The Nefarious Mathilda Jones
by missycanucks
Summary: Jones Conglomerates Incorporated controls the government. Its runaway heiress seeks to dethrone her brother Alfred, her husband Arthur, and the massive empire. While the mobs keep fleeing from the law and the police, and other parties have their various suspicions, only Sergeant Gilbert Bielschmidt knows first-hand that Mathilda is hiding nearby. (Many ships, some mystery & murder)
1. Chapter 1

Alfred Jones strolled through the laboratory, and watched as the security team analyzed the computers and questioned the employees still present. He couldn't believe his own sister would try to ruin their empire.

Jones Conglomerates Incorporated was started by their father as a research and development facility, and quickly gained plenty of success. When Andrew Jones had passed on, the shares of the family-owned corporation were evenly split between the two children. Alfred was the young face and leader of the empire, and his business acumen gave way to complete market domination, to the point where they were able to buy out all levels of the country's government. Mathilda, on the other hand, was hidden away from the world for her own protection, as everyone would want to be connected to the heiress. It wasn't until after their father passed away that Alfred allowed his sister to do anything for JCI, giving her managerial duties in the R&D department.

As Alfred stared at the locked door his head of security, Vash Zwingli, was trying to open with the help of his little sister, he realized what a mistake that had been.

With the help of her top researcher, Mathilda had built a supercomputer with the power to hack and corrupt the computer systems of JCI and the government, as well as being able to fire nuclear missiles at all JCI and government facilities. No matter how she may try to spin it, and no matter what her reasons could possibly be, her intention to destroy their business empire was far too obvious.

Almost as obvious as the security camera footage of her cheating on her husband with her partner-in-crime.

"It's no good, Alfred," Vash reported, "The security protocols the three of you put on this door cannot be overridden. The only way it will open is if you all have your eyes and fingerprints scanned simultaneously."

"In other words, we can't get in there," Alfred recapped, "See if you can get remote access, their programming needs to be wiped and destroyed."

Vash turned back to Lilli and the computer they were using to access security restraints. The doors at the front of the room crashed against the walls as they were swung open, and Alfred turned to see his brother-in-law storming in.

"That two-timing bitch got to a computer," Arthur roared, slamming papers on the desk beside Alfred, "50 million dollars of company funds were just spent to purchase untraceable bearer bonds, only for them to be immediately resold to the open market. The proceeds went to an encrypted account, we won't be able to find it."

"What the fuck?" Alfred exclaimed, "I thought she was quarantined!"

"I'll call my men right now," Vash said, pulling out his phone and dialling a number, "I told my guards to not let her do anything."

"Probably that bodyguard of hers, Vash," Arthur snarled, "I never trusted that Spaniard, and you know it."

"We should probably keep an eye on Antonio as well, then," Alfred suggested, "Considering how much time he's spent in here watching them work, Mattie and Ivan probably had him help."

"How did Braginski get out?" Arthur asked, "Didn't we keep him restrained in here?"

"We did, but he escaped his restraints while Vash was busy," Alfred disclosed, "It was Ivan who shut the doors to the supercomputer, before heading out the fire exit and fleeing into the night."

"Edelstein is on his way up," Arthur notified, "We'll let the police help us find that wife-stealing Russian."

"They're gone?" Vash bellowed into his phone, "What the fuck do you mean, they're gone?"

"What?" Alfred and Arthur shrieked at once, only to be ignored as Vash kept yelling into his phone.

"Get out there and hunt them down, do not stop until you find them," Vash ordered, before hanging up his phone and turning back to the men, "The team was compromised. Carriedo knocked them all out and helped Mathilda escape."

"So all three of them are on the run?" Arthur concluded, "Mathilda, Ivan and Antonio?"

"The supercomputer is fully self-defended from remote access," Lilli declared, "The only way to get into it is through this door."

"Please don't tell me that we need her here to be able to do that," Arthur groaned.

"I'm sorry, but the security protocols on this door cannot be altered from their high state," she advised, "If you want access, Mrs. Jones-Kirkland will need to return and allow her eyes and hand to be scanned at the same time as you both do."

"In other words, we're locked away from the most powerful weapon ever created," Arthur grumbled.

"Yes, but so is she," Alfred pointed out, "If she ever does want to use it again, she will need our eyes and hands scanned as well. Quite frankly, I think it better that we write this off as a loss for R&D, and let the police hunt her down for the multiple crimes against us."

"Would that be my queue, Mr. Jones?" a familiar voice asked behind him, "Are we branding the richest woman in the world as a wanted criminal?"

"We sure are, Roderich," Alfred replied, turning to the police commissioner, "We need your help hunting down Antonio Fernandez Carriedo, Ivan Braginski, and Mathilda Jones-Kirkland."

* * *

 _ **Author's Notes**_

 _ **Hello, everyone, and welcome to a brand new story!**_

 _ **I know I promised my Spain x Canada fic was going to be my next one, and that one is still in progress. However, I suddenly got struck with such a HUGE plot bunny here that I couldn't resist doing this first!**_


	2. Chapter 2

_Just over 2 years later..._

"Bank robbery in progress at Eastern Credit Union, 10th and Johnson, over."

"Dispatch, this is car 2829, we are heading to the credit union right now, over."

The police sergeant rushed into the left turn on Johnson Street, allowing the tires on the car to screech with the police sirens before proceeding down the street.

"Gilbert, how many times have I asked you not to do that?" the sergeant's partner scolded from the passenger seat, releasing his radio for a moment, "You'll ruin the car that way!"

"But it's so much fun, Kiku!" Gilbert said, "And besides, these are police cars, they should be able to handle such use and abuse."

"You still shouldn't drive like that," Kiku warned, "At least the streets are quiet right now, not many other drivers for you to crash into."

"Yep, it will help us get to the bank faster," Gilbert added, "What exactly is going on there, anyway?"

"The alarms went off, several hours after closing," Kiku repeated from the dispatch's report, "The alarm company checked the surveillance, broken windows and intruders opening the vault."

"We're at 13th Avenue now, we're almost there," Gilbert noted, speeding through another intersection, "Maybe we'll catch them in the act, that would look good on my record."

"Yes, it just might wipe away how many criminals you've allowed to get away in almost 2 years of service," Kiku commented.

"Ooh, sass from Sergeant Kiku Honda," Gilbert remarked, "Heracles still doesn't believe you can actually do that."

"Put a lid on it, Bielschmidt," Kiku snubbed, before speaking into his radio again, "Dispatch, this is car 2829, we have reached Eastern Credit Union, and there is a black van parked outside."

Gilbert pulled through the intersection at 11th and Johnson, noting what Kiku was seeing. There were three people, dressed in black with matching masks, rushing out the bank's front window right at that moment, bags in hand, and rushing into the van. As soon as the criminals shut the doors, the van backed out of its parking spot.

"Damn it, they left the van running!" Gilbert realized.

He tried to maneuver the car to block their way out, but the van had already pulled out far enough to straighten out and drive right past the police car.

"Spin the car, Gilbert, they're heading back the way we came," Kiku ordered, "And yes, the tires can screech this time."

Gilbert turned the car around, while Kiku reported the development to dispatch. As they straightened out, Gilbert saw the van turn right onto 12th Avenue.

"The chase is on, Kiku," Gilbert said, "Tell dispatch to send someone else to check the bank."

The policemen sped down and turned onto 12th, quickly spotting and gaining ground on the criminals. The van made a couple turns, but they held on tight. After a few blocks, the van turned down a narrow alley, and Gilbert turned the car to follow. As the van reached the far end, another black van came out and blocked the exit, trapping the original van in the alley between the new one and the police car.

"Dispatch, this is car 2829," Kiku notified, "We have the van trapped in the alleyway between 14th and 15th, another black van has blocked their exit onto Woodward Street."

"Car 2829, proceed with caution," dispatch replied, "The other party is not a reporting police van."

"A third party?" Gilbert asked Kiku, before he heard gunshots and ducked for protection.

"Dispatch, the third party is armed and hostile," Kiku alerted, "We need backup here immediately."

Gilbert opened his door and tried to slide out of the car, using the door as cover while aiming his gun in the general direction of the altercation. The officer watched carefully for an opportunity to get closer and take a better look at what was happening.

After a few moments, he saw someone wearing black with a red mask approach the bank robbery van's driver-side door, open it, and drag the black-masked driver out. The driver was putting up a fight, throwing punches at the other in an attempt to break free from their hold. Since neither appeared to be otherwise armed, and nobody else was coming around, Gilbert decided to approach the violent pair.

"Hey, hey, break it up," Gilbert demanded, but the pair kept punching. He tucked his gun away before attempting to pull the fighters apart, having to dodge a couple blows in the process.

"We're done, let's move out!" a loud booming voice shouted from the third party van, distracting Gilbert long enough for the red-masked fighter to punch him in the nose. The officer caught his bearings before he could fall to the ground, and watched as the red-masked fighter ran back to his van. The black-masked driver attempted to get back in the robbery van, but Gilbert slipped a leg in and tripped him, allowing him to fall to the ground.

"No, no, you're not going anywhere," Gilbert declined as he pinned the man to the ground, "You're under arrest, my friend."

Once the hold was secure, Gilbert looked up to the sound of screeching tires and watched as the third party van drove off.

"Lovi, where are you?" someone yelled from inside the van, before leaning out of the driver door to see Gilbert pinning the driver down.

"Get out of here, now!" the driver shouted back, and the accomplice followed the order. Gilbert held his man down as the van was started back up and driven onto the street, before spotting his partner on the other side of where the van was. Kiku had a blond man pinned to the ground, with a red mask laying nearby, and he was already paging dispatch.

"Both vans have turned right onto Woodward Street, please send someone in to continue the pursuit," Kiku relayed, "The third party van stole the bags of bank money from the robbers. We have apprehended 2 men, one from each group."

"Car 2829, this is Lieutenant Adnan reporting in, I have spotted the vans and am in pursuit. Van Ryn and Maes will join you in a moment."

Just at the transmission ended, two police cars rushed by on Woodward Street, while a third pulled up and parked in front of the alley. As Lars and Bella emerged from the car to help out, Gilbert pulled the mask off his captive, revealing brown hair with a longer curl of hair hanging to the left of the head.

"I knew it was a Vargas," Kiku's captive growled, "You're on our turf."

"Oh fuck off, Kohler scum," Gilbert's captive snarled back, "We were just driving through, the bank was in our territory."

"No it wasn't, the bank is on our side of 10th!"

"That's enough, Mr. Bondevik," Kiku ordered, taking a look at the ID found in his captive's wallet, before handing it to Bella Maes as she reached them. Gilbert looked over to see that Lars Van Ryn would help him, although with a smirk on his face.

"You're a bloody mess," Lars pointed out, referencing the blood dripping from Gilbert's nose, "Your eyes might actually match your face for once."

"Just shut it and help me search this one," Gilbert abstained, "He's a bit feisty."

Lars pulled Lovino up and began cuffing his hands while Gilbert searched him for weapons, finding a few pocket knives and a wallet with ID handy.

"Lovino Vargas," Gilbert read from the ID, "So you really are one of Romulus's twin grandsons, then?"

"I'm not saying a fucking thing to you," Lovino rebuffed.

"Suit yourself, you're still going to jail," Gilbert said as Lars dragged Lovino towards his car, before turning to see that Kiku was putting his captive in their car. Bella came over and offered him a first-aid kit while speaking to dispatch, and Gilbert helped himself to the supplies. Kiku shut the backdoor of their car before addressing Gilbert.

"This one is Lukas Bondevik, he's been confirmed as one of Mikkel Kohler's hired guns."

"Mine was Lovino Vargas, one of Romulus's grandsons. This bank robbery turned into a turf war."

"So the Vargas clan pulled off the bank heist, only for the Kohler gang to intercept them and steal the prize," Bella confirmed, "We need to get these criminals to the station, and Sadiq will want your report on this."


	3. Chapter 3

"Last night's incident with the mobs proved to us that there is unrest in the underground. We have done well cutting down on illegal activities by their organizations, and their jobs available are becoming much scarcer."

Lieutenant Sadiq Adnan listened carefully as Roderich Edelstein addressed the members of the police unit about the mob activity. The bespectacled brunette always had an air of class to him, even in the midst of tracking down criminals, and had earned the position of police commissioner a few years ago. He was also fond of following rules, which put him on very good terms with both the government and Jones Conglomerates Incorporated.

The lieutenant glanced at the two special guests in attendance. Arthur Kirkland was one of the most powerful men in the country, owning 10% of JCI's shares while also being the government's best court prosecutor. He was accompanied by Vash Zwingli, the head of security at JCI that often doubled as a bodyguard for Alfred Jones and a IT security expert for all agencies they have a hand in. Roderich's cooperation with JCI allowed the corporation a bit of leeway in having the police help them with projects, such as the one Arthur and Vash were there to tell the unit about today.

"While the bank heist last night may have resulted in the culprits escaping, and the two mobsters we captured are able to walk out on bail, there is one thing becoming far clearer," Roderich continued, "The more often these mobs have to step on each other's tails, the more opportunities we have to catch them and shut them down for good."

Sadiq looked around the room to make sure everyone was concentrating on the Commissioner's words, and was pleased to see that most of them were. While they had started with the police force around the same time, Sergeant Kiku Honda was far more calm and introverted than Sadiq, and seemed to enjoy training new recruits. Sergeant Lars van Ryn was Kiku's first student, and he had already reached the point of training his own protege, Sergeant Bella Maes.

Kiku's most recent student and partner, Sergeant Gilbert Bielschmidt, was a little more relaxed at his table, although he was at the scene last night and saw the situation first-hand. The German-born officer with silver-white hair and red eyes had gotten in trouble at first for impulsively chasing down criminals and losing them in a split second. His records were improving though, and he was showing off a smart mind that could eventually follow the path of a detective.

"We will proceed with our due diligence on tracking the mob activity," Roderich concluded, "When the mobs strike again, we will be prepared to shut down anyone at the scene of the crime."

The speech was interrupted by the doors opening to the meeting room, and everyone turned to see Sergeant Heracles Karpusi standing there. The Greek man had gone through training with Sadiq and Kiku, and now helped out the Lieutenant as his partner.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, Commissioner," Heracles said, "The friends paying the bails on Vargas and Bondevik showed up at the same time. We'll need backup downstairs to make sure there isn't any altercations when we release the boys."

"Sadiq, you head downstairs," Roderich ordered, "I need to keep the others here to explain tomorrow night's project."

"I'll come with you, Sadiq," Arthur volunteered, "Vash can present to the unit without me. Besides, Vargas and Bondevik may spill details I can use in their prosecution."

"Sounds good, come along," Sadiq approved as he and Arthur left the room and followed Heracles through the hallway.

"Any word on who picked them up, Heracles?" the attorney inquired as they went down the stairs to the main level.

"A Portuguese man named Miguel Torres is picking up Vargas. He's been flagged as associated to the Vargas crime family, but we don't have any evidence to formally charge him," Heracles explained, "The one picking up Bondevik is Berwald Oxenstierna. The Swede is believed to be Mikkel Kohler's right-hand man, but like Miguel, we have no evidence."

"It's really too bad we can't lock them up right now," Arthur complained as they turned past the main reception and towards the waiting room for releases, "We need that evidence to put them behind bars."

"Have some patience, Mr. Attorney General," Sadiq teased, "The chance will come for you to shine in the courts."

The three men turned the corner and went down the hallway into the waiting room, where an altercation had already started. Sergeant Tomas Jelen was already attempting to stand between the two pairs, while Sergeant Lenka Svoboda was prepared to come around from her counter. Oxenstierna was holding Bondevik back while Miguel tried to control Vargas. Arthur wisely stayed back as Heracles and Sadiq jumped into the fray.

"Break it up, or you'll all get arrested," Sadiq shouted, quickly gaining control of the situation, "And believe me, Arthur here would love to put you all away for good!"

Lovino Vargas quit his fighting with Sadiq and Miguel holding him back, while Heracles and Tomas pushed Berwald and Lukas out of the room to the exits. Once Lovino was visibly calming down, Sadiq approached the counter where Lenka was waiting to talk to him.

"Mr. Bondevik's paperwork was completed before the altercation, so he was good to go," she reported, "We still need signatures from Mr. Vargas."

"Well, get signing there, Vargas," Sadiq told the Italian, "You can leave when that's taken care of."

"Ah non, did I miss out on a potential client?" a very familiar voice echoed from the door, and Sadiq turned to see that Francis Bonnefoy had joined them.

"Get out of here, you slimy French vulture," Arthur told the defense lawyer.

"But Arthur, mon cher, you know I love arguing with you in court," Francis pleaded, "Am I not allowed to track releases and solicit my services to clients?"

"Piss off, Bonnefoy," Lovino shot down as he turned from the counter, "You just want whatever money you can scam, whether I'm guilty or not."

"Ah, mais non, Lovino, that is only a perk," Francis defended, "And besides, I doubt you would need to pay that much for my services. At least, not as much as Madame Kirkland's defense will cost."

Arthur immediately charged over and slapped Francis across the face. Heracles stepped between them and pushed the attorney general out of the room before it could go any further. They were promptly followed by Vargas and Torres, leaving Sadiq alone in the waiting room with Francis and the red handprint forming across his cheek.

"You okay there, Franny?"

"Yes, I'll be fine, mon ami," Francis assured, "At least he didn't punch me this time, he was quite the brute the last time we fought in the courtroom."

"You really should know better than to mention his missing wife around him," Sadiq warned, "Even though it's been over two years, it's still a touchy subject."

"Let him grovel in his misery," Francis said as they went to leave, "When Mathilda does finally return, her defense trial will be the pinnacle of my career."

* * *

 _ **Author's Notes**_

 _ **Here we meet the police department, with the connection between the seemingly entirely separate Chapters 1 and 2. Most of the names should be obvious, but just in case, Tomas Jelen is Slovakia and Lenka Svoboda is Czech Republic.**_


	4. Chapter 4

"Did everyone get back safely last night?"

"You're the only one that didn't."

"What about Emil? Wasn't he the one fighting Vargas? Is he alright?"

"He's fine, just a black eye and a few scratches, nothing serious."

Lukas exhaled in relief as Berwald turned the car into the alleyway where they had hidden parking spots and the entrance to the Kohler gang's base. The two of them had been childhood friends with Mikkel, and were the first ones to be recruited in the Dane's underground dealings. Lukas was fond of putting together plans and strategies, while the silent Swede served as a bodyguard and second-in-command.

Once the car was parked, they both climbed out and went into the building's side entrance and up a flight of stairs. They turned at the top and entered the main lounge of the base, which included a large kitchen and multipurpose tables where four of their hired guns were sitting.

"Welcome back!" they all greeted.

While Berwald went further in towards the far end of the lounge, Lukas walked over to join Toris Laurinaitis, Feliks Lukaswiecz, Elizaveta Herzvedery and Ivan Simonov. They had covered the table in playing cards, food, glasses and a few bottles of hard liquor.

"Come join us, Lukas, we're having a party!" Toris invited, pouring a shot of vodka. The Lithuanian was a very good spy, and helped their group with reconnaissance.

"Drinking at noon?" Lukas criticized, "Don't you have anything better to do?"

"Not really, Mikkel gave us the day off to celebrate our success," Feliks clarified before taking a swig of his drink. The Pole had a fondness for sourcing weapons and supplies, and enjoyed hunting around in the black market.

"And besides, it's 5:00 somewhere, da?" Ivan added on. The Russian had a very similar skillset to Berwald, but was also a bit bolder and more outspoken.

"How much vodka do you need?" Lukas inquired, "Why do you have two bottles going?"

"Come on, you know that Feliks only drinks Polish vodka, while Ivan only drinks Russian," Elizaveta justified. The Hungarian was the only woman in the gang, but she easily pulled her weight along with the others.

"It's actually three bottles, since Tino prefers his Finnish vodka," Toris supplemented, pointing towards Mikkel's office at the far end of the lounge, "You might want to take a look in there, Mikkel was feeding some to Emil."

"Oh dear lord," Lukas muttered as he rushed further into the lounge towards the office, passing by Berwald talking to Tino in front of the large multi-monitor computer system. Despite having known him a few years, it was easy to forget that the cheery Finn is a very good sniper.

Lukas barged through the open door, and watched as Emil was downing a shot of vodka beside a grinning spiky-haired Dane.

"Hey Lukas, welcome back," Mikkel greeted, taking the empty shot glass back from Emil, "Here, have a drink, we're celebrating!"

"I can see that," Lukas scoffed, "How much did you give him?"

"Oh hi, big brother," Emil slurred, finally noticing they had company, "How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough to know Mikkel got you drunk," Lukas nagged, pulling his brother by the wrist from Mikkel and out into the lounge, "Go drink some water, you've had more than enough."

"I thought you were supposed to be a big brother, not a mother hen," Mikkel criticized as they watched Emil stumble towards the kitchen.

"Our mom is gone, so something has to watch over him," Lukas defended.

Lukas hardly remembers his own father, but he does recall when his mother married his stepfather and gave birth to the half-brother that Lukas would end up raising. Since Emil was the youngest member of their group, Lukas and the others were prone to overprotecting him, but he was quickly earning his place in the mob.

"They had filled six duffle bags with cash last night, by the way," Mikkel reported, offering a shot of vodka, "We used some of it towards this celebration, and we'll be good on cash flows for a while."

"Unfortunately the job cost us though," Lukas countered after downing his shot, "We'll have to pay up to get me a lawyer before court, they'll pin as much of the heist's blame on me as they can."

"You need to lighten up, Lukas," Mikkel dismissed, "The only thing that went wrong was your arrest. We'll get that dealt with, but otherwise we're all good. And besides, we'll have another mission tomorrow night."

"Tomorrow night?" Lukas asked, "What will we be doing?"

"JCI has a shipment of weapons arriving from Asia, their truck will pick it up at the docks tomorrow night," Mikkel revealed, "When the truck is on its way back to JCI, we'll hijack it."

* * *

The ride back to the base was fairly quiet, and Lovino didn't have to wonder why. He knew that the Portuguese bodyguard had something to say about what happened, but understood that Lovino would hear it all from his grandfather.

They climbed out of the vehicle, and walked into the authentic Italian pizza parlour, where the lunchtime crowd has filled the place.

"Ah, Lovi, good to see you," Antonio greeted from the counter, "Your nonno is waiting upstairs for you."

"Get to work, you cheery bastard," Lovino scolded the Spaniard on his way to the kitchen. Antonio Esposito was originally hired as a waiter in the restaurant, but had previous work experience as a bodyguard. He earned his place with the Vargas crime family when he defended Romulus Vargas during an unexpected altercation with another mob.

Clearing the next door, Lovino strode through the kitchen, dodging the regular staff that were making the food. His twin brother was running around, and Lovino gave Feliciano a pat on the shoulder on his way by. He turned the corner at the back of the kitchen and marched up the stairs double-time, before turning again and walking through the lounge.

Gupta Hassan and Vladimir Lupeski were at the table playing a game of cards, while Veronique Lamare was watching the computers. While all three were hired guns, they each had other specialties that appealed to the Vargas family. The Egyptian was very good with computers, while the Romanian enjoyed procurement of supplies. The Monacan was fantastic with reconnaissance, and could easily turn a profit with gambling.

All three gave quick greetings as Lovino and Miguel strolled past, then quickly returned to their activities while the Italian opened the office door. His grandfather was sitting at his large wooden desk, and didn't even look up to confirm who was entering before talking.

"How much was the bail, Miguel?"

"$10,000, Mr. Vargas," Miguel reported, "They realized it was your grandson, put the price a bit higher than on Bondevik's bail."

"So, not only was your mission a failure, Lovino, but we had to pay higher bail too," Romulus summed up, "Any explanation you want to give?"

"We were surrounded, Nonno," Lovino claimed, "I told the others to leave while they had the chance. Would you rather pay bail on all three of us?"

"I'd rather see my grandson's criminal record remain clean!" Romulus yelled, standing up and slamming his papers on the desk, "Now that you have been arrested, you will remain on their radar! If they catch you again, they won't let us bail you out again! Do you want to put me through that, Lovi?"

"No, Nonno, I will not have that happen again," Lovino vowed, "I'm sorry."

"Good," Romulus acknowledged, sitting back down calmly, "We'll find a way through this, Lovino. The police are starting to watch us a little more closely, we need to be careful what chances we take. Veronique can still bring in some gambling profits, but that is still limited."

"What about Madeline," Lovino suggested, "Could we hire her to do anything for us?"

"I think Ms. Williams is going to be off-limits for a while," Romulus countered, "She wants her neutrality, and would refuse to get involved in our feud with the Kohler gang as long as that is raging. There's no need for her in our next project anyways."

"You already have your eyes on something?" Lovino asked.

"A shipment of JCI guns and ammunitions will be transported from the shipyard tomorrow night to their main facility," Romulus disclosed, "Kohler will likely want it as well, but we'll have the upper hand."

* * *

The woman parked her old brown car on the side of the road, and stepped out with her purse, shutting the door after her. Finding a moment in the traffic, she swiftly walked across the road to the restaurant on the other side. The Golden Dragon was well-known for its cuisine from many parts of Asia.

Of course, her visit today wasn't for the food. The Dragon Triad had a job for her.

While brushing a few of her long blonde curls behind her shoulder, she climbed up the steps and through the front door. The main salon was decorated in a gorgeous dark red and colourful embellishments that made her want to travel East at some point in the seemingly distant future. She waited at the hostess table at the front, and a very familiar woman with straight platinum blonde hair met her there shortly after.

"He's already waiting for you," the hostess greeted, "Come along, Madeline."

"Lovely to see you too, Natalya," Madeline replied, deliberating including extra cheer to counteract the lack of it in Natalya's greeting, "How have you and Katya been?"

"As good as usual," Natalya answered bluntly, clearly not intent on continuing the conversation with the freelancer.

Madeline followed Natalya through the restaurant, pausing to give Katerina a hug on their way by. The busty waitress was well aware of the illegal activities her sister and fellow employees pursued outside the restaurant, and helped where she could. As they reached the door to the kitchen, they allowed Wai Hou, the gentlemanly hired gun from Macau, to pass with some food before going in themselves. Madeline waved at Katerina's boyfriend, Yao, as they walked by his large woks filled with fragrant cuisine. Natalya stopped at the end of the hallway before gesturing at the flight of stairs.

"He's down there, go ahead," Natalya directed.

Madeline went down the stairs, and turned left at the bottom into the Dragon Triad's base. Xiao Mei was in the main lounge, watching some anime the tv from her computer chair.

"Hi Maddie," Mei welcomed, "He's in his office."

"Thanks, Mei," Madeline acknowledged, before walking through the lounge past the Taiwanese computer expert, to the office at the far end and knocking on the door.

"Come on in," the voice on the other side ordered, and Madeline opened the door to see the Dragon Triad's boss sitting at a game table in front of his desk, with some tea and food ready to be served.

"You have wonderful timing, Ms. Williams," Im Yong Soo said, "You're welcome to have dinner with me, if you like."

"That would be lovely, thank you," Maddie accepted as she sat down, "I'm also here on that request you sent me for help with a project."

"JCI has a shipment of supplies coming in tomorrow at the harbour," the Korean explained as he poured her some tea, "Guns and ammunition from Asia."

"Are you planning to intercept it before JCI gets it?" Maddie inquired, "Is that why I'm here?"

"I've already started making arrangements at the shipyard for the cargo," Yong Soo confirmed, "We just need the extra help on the collection."

* * *

 _ **Author's Notes**_

 _ **And now we meet the mobs! Here's a quick recap of who's all working for who.**_

 _ **Vargas crime family: Romulus as leader, Lovino, Feliciano, Antonio, Miguel, Veronique, Vladimir, Gupta.**_

 _ **Kohler gang: Mikkel as leader, Berwald, Tino, Lukas, Emil, Ivan, Elizaveta, Toris, Feliks.**_

 _ **Dragon Triad: Im Yong Soo as leader, Yao, Katerina, Natalya, Mei (Taiwan) and Wai Hou (Macau). (Last two names needed to be improvised.)**_

 _ **As mentioned, Madeline Williams is a neutral freelance criminal, who does jobs for all three groups.**_


	5. Chapter 5

"Two motorcycles just pulled in between us, two passengers on each one."

Lars looked in the rearview mirror, hoping to see at least one of the motorcycles behind them, but the delivery truck's blind spot was a bit too large.

JCI was expecting a shipment of guns and ammunitions to be delivered from Asia, and Vash Zwingli suspected that the mobs would try to intercept the delivery truck between the shipyard and JCI facilities. Lars and Kiku had been placed undercover as the JCI employees who would pick up the shipment, while Gilbert and Bella followed in ghost cars in case anything happened.

Based on Gilbert's page about the motorcycles, there might indeed be something going on.

The light at the intersection ahead was just turning red, so Lars slowed the truck down. Once the full stop was reached, he glanced in the rearview mirror again and spotted one of the motorcycles continuing forward around the side of the truck. The driver appeared to be a woman with wavy brown hair spilling out of her helmet, while her companion had a much larger build.

"The motorcycles are pulling forward, one on each side of you," Gilbert paged, and Lars slipped the truck out of its gear and into park just as a motorcycle reached his side.

"Remember not to break cover," Kiku whispered.

Sure enough, the passenger climbed off the bike, reached for the driver door, pulled it open and pointed a gun at Lars.

"Come on out nicely, or I'll shoot you," the man threatened with a thick Russian accent.

Lars immediately put his hands in the air, and the man used his empty hand to grab the disguised cop by the shirt and pull him out of the vehicle. Lars balanced himself on the ground and spun to see the man climbing into the truck in his place, before hearing the click of another gun from the woman driving the motorcycle.

"Don't move until the truck does," she warned, holding the gun at his head.

Lars chose to continue playing along, raising his hands in surrender so she wouldn't shoot him. He managed a glance at the rearview mirror before the truck moved forward, noting that the bulky Russian had removed his helmet to reveal platinum blond hair and purple eyes. Once the truck had started turning right onto the next street, the woman shifted gears on the motorcycle and followed the truck, along with the other motorcycle that now also had only one passenger. Lars looked to the side and saw Kiku there.

"The passenger hopped off on my side as well," Kiku said, before looking back at the two approaching cars, "You go with Gilbert, I'll go with Bella."

Lars turned and rushed to the right side of the lane, and grabbed the car door handle once Gilbert was close enough. He had hardly enough time to get both feet into the car before Gilbert hit the gas and sped off after the truck.

"Couldn't you wait for me to shut the door?" Lars nagged as he put on the seat belt before reaching the radio.

"Why waste time?" Gilbert defended, more focused on the chase.

"Commissioner, this is Sergeant Van Ryn, we are in pursuit of the delivery truck and the hijackers on Broadway Street," Lars reported, "They are joined by two accomplices on motorcycles, and have guns. I am in Sergeant Bielschmidt's car now, and Sergeant Honda is just behind us with Sergeant Maes."

"Lieutenant Adnan and I are both on our way with backup units," Roderich replied, "Continue the pursuit and update us on any changes to your path, we will join you as soon as we can."

As Gilbert continued driving, Lars transmitted any changes to their route while removing the shirt for his borrowed JCI disguise, revealing his police uniform underneath, and put on the spare police duty belt that was ready for him.

After a few minutes of driving, the truck and motorcycles turned into a parking lot between a pair of apartment buildings on Douglas Street, and Gilbert followed them in. There were already two other vans parked near the middle of the lot, with five people standing by. The truck and motorcycles had parked right beside them, and they were all climbing out to join the others. All nine were watching closely as Gilbert parked close to them, with Bella pulling up her car to their right.

"Parking lot between 18th and 19th, Commercial and Douglas," Lars paged on the radio, "Our hijackers have met up with some others, we are outnumbered nine to four."

"You may engage, but proceed with caution," Roderich answered, "We will reach your location within five minutes."

"I thought he was supposed to be closer than that," Gilbert muttered, as the criminals pulled out guns and aimed in their direction. One tall man with spiky blond hair came forward in front of the others, and Lars recognized the group leader from his mugshot.

"Why don't you come on out and talk to us?" Mikkel shouted, "I can tell that you are coppers, and there's more than enough of us to handle you."

"Should we?" Gilbert checked.

"Climb out carefully, keep the door as your cover," Lars advised Gilbert, looking over to give Bella a nod for her to follow his lead, "Have your gun ready to shoot, if the need arises. I'll do the talking, so you can keep your loud mouth shut."

The boys slowly pushed their doors all the way open and slid out, Lars motioning for Bella to come out slow and steady as well. Once he saw all four officers were in place with their guns aimed, Lars turned back to the mob boss.

"This is all of us, Mikkel," Lars called out, "Is that your entire crew, or should we be expecting more?"

Before Mikkel could reply, a couple of vans came screeching into the parking lot from the far side on Commercial Street. Lars noted Mikkel frowning in confusion before turning to watch a couple of his men go around the other side of the JCI delivery truck. Although vision was limited, the sounds were very clear, and the screeching of brakes from the new vans were followed by doors sliding open and gunshots being fired. The two men came back around the JCI truck in order to dodge fire, and it was the one to the left that gave Mikkel the alert.

"It's the Vargas clan!"

Mikkel and his men immediately got into formation, whether using the front or back of the JCI trucks as cover for fighting back, or finding a moment to get to the mob's vehicles to use them as cover.

"Commissioner, we've got open gunfire here between multiple parties," Lars reported when he had the moment to use his radio again, "The Kohler gang hijacked the JCI truck, but the Vargas clan just showed up and starting shooting."

"Copy that, Sergeant," Roderich replied, "We'll be there in 3 minutes."

As the transmission ended, Lars noticed a shift in strategy from both groups, as one of the men still by the JCI truck's front doors suddenly went into the van and reached all the way across to the passenger side. As he was doing this, the bulky Russian from earlier went around outside the truck, disappeared for a moment, then came back out. He was dragging someone along that looked a lot like Lovino Vargas, and the Italian was trying to punch him and break free.

"A Vargas member just tried to climb into the truck," Gilbert pointed out, "Looks like they're locking the doors."

Lars nodded in agreement, noting that the Kohler man with straight shoulder-length brown hair hit the lock on the way out before shutting the truck door. He pocketed the key and joined the fistfight, where another brawler with short curly brown hair was jumping in to help Vargas.

He suddenly heard the trunk door close on their own vehicle, and turned to see that Gilbert had pulled out a megaphone and a flare.

"What are you doing?"

"I have a plan that you're going to hate," Gilbert suggested, sliding the megaphone and flare across the roof to Lars, "Take these, and get to the side of the truck. I'll get a running start, you use your hands to boost me up then pass me these once I'm on top of the truck."

"Are you fucking mad?" Lars reprimanded, "We'll get shot!"

"The last of Kohler's men who can see this side clearly are too focused on the other side," Gilbert refuted, "Get Bella and Kiku to help cover us."

Lars shook his head, before turning to Bella.

"Gilbert wants to be an idiot," he told her, "You two cover us."

After seeing Bella nod at the instruction and turn to pass it on to Kiku, Lars grabbed the megaphone and flare before looking at where Kohler's men were shooting from. As Gilbert pointed out, the two men that had stayed near the front of the truck were engaged in the fistfighting, while everyone else was on the right side. He noted that they were all in the truck's blindspot, and he would be more or less in the clear if he reached the side. One of the men turned to reload the ammunition on his gun, before returning to shooting.

Spotting the chance, Lars bolted around his car door and ran for the truck. In those split seconds, he could have sworn that he heard gunshots flying by him, but he crashed into the side of the truck just fine. He turned to see that one of Kohler's men had seen him and was preparing to shoot, but quickly backed up when shots were fired at his feet by either Bella or Kiku.

Lars dropped the megaphone and flare to his feet, braced his knees, and brought his hands together. The moment he looked up, Gilbert had already started running in his direction. Within moments, Gilbert's right foot had landed in his hands, and Lars used his strength to help push Gilbert's momentum upwards. Their effort proved to be enough, as Gilbert was easily able to pull himself the rest of the way up onto the roof. Lars reached back down for the megaphone and flare, and passed them up to Gilbert.

"I'll keep them busy, Lars," Gilbert guided, "You three surround the truck."

"Don't be an idiot," Lars warned, before turning back to Bella and Kiku and motioning for them to come over and take control on the ground. Seeing them loop around to face the Kohler gang, Lars slipped around the front of the truck, placing the fistfight and the other Vargas members all in his line of sight. A couple of them noticed him right away and prepared to shoot him, only to be distracted by a bright red light above his head.

Within moments of Gilbert lighting the flare, all the members of both gangs were watching him, and Lars saw Bella come around the back corner and help him cover the sides of the truck. The light from the flare helped Lars see their faces, so he took a good look at whoever he could so that he could try to identify them later.

"All right, everybody, listen up!" Gilbert hollered into the microphone, "This truck is staying in the hands of the police, so unless you want to be in our custody as well, I suggest you all beat it!"

"What's the point, officer?" The curly-haired brawler objected with a distinct Spanish accent, "There's more than enough of us to shoot down all four of you!"

"Shooting an officer is more than enough for a long-term sentence," Gilbert appealed, "There'll be even more witnesses when the Commissioner arrives with our backup in less than a minute."

As the criminals paused to mutter to each other, Lars could hear the approaching sirens that indicated Roderich's approach.

"Signor, I don't think he's lying," a gunman with longer curly brown hair standing by one of the Vargas vans pointed out.

"Vamonos!" Romulus shouted, and his men quickly moved back into their vans.

"Let's get out of here!" Mikkel ordered his group, and they piled into their vehicles as well.

Lars went back in front of the truck, and watched in each direction as the two groups started up their vehicles and drove off into the night. Within moments of Kohler's group driving out onto Douglas Street, some police cars followed them, while others pulled into their parking lot, with two parking at close as possible.

The doors opened on the two cars, revealing that Vash Zwingli had been riding with Roderich, while Sadiq and Heracles were partnered together.

"What happened?" Roderich demanded, "Where are they all?"

"Gilbert scared them away," Lars explained, "He hopped up top with a megaphone and a flare, told them all to leave before our backup arrived."

"They didn't get to take anything then?" Vash inquired.

"That's right, we got the truck back into our hands," Lars confirmed.

"Why did you let Gilbert do that?" Roderich pressed, "He could have gotten himself killed that way, and he allowed them to run off."

"He was the one to come up with a plan on the spot, and it worked," Lars endorsed, "I warned him not to be an idiot, and we had Bella and Kiku help cover us."

"Where is he, anyways?" Roderich asked, "I still need to tell him never to do that ever again."

Lars turned to see where the fool had gone, only to chuckle when seeing that they had already been beaten to the chase.

"What the bloody hell were you thinking?" Bella was screeching at Gilbert while pulling on his ear, "They could've shot you dead, did you want that? You are fucking lucky that didn't go wrong, I was that close to telling Ludwig about how his dumbass of a big brother got himself killed by his own idiocy!"

"Never mind, he's good," Roderich backed down, "I'll just question him when he gives his report later."

Lars watched as another JCI delivery truck arrived, and Vash unlocked the back of the original truck with a spare set of keys. The security manager stood close by as some employees came out of the second truck and prepared to move the crates of ammunition from one truck to the other. Vash gave them a hand bringing out the first crate, but quickly instructed them to put it down and get a crowbar, before turning to Lars and waving him over.

"Is there a problem?" he asked.

"Were they this light when you picked them up?" Vash questioned, "They should need a third person to lift."

"Gilbert and I had no trouble with them, just the size was awkward," Lars explained, "Should they have been heavier?"

Vash took the crowbar from the employee that brought it over, tucked it under the lid, and pried the crate open. There were foam molds on the inside shaped to hold guns, but they were completely empty.

"Bring out the other crates and check them all!" Vash ordered.

Lars noticed a piece of paper tucked by the lid, so he picked it up. The one side showed a very familiar emblem, a golden dragon against a red background.

"What's going on?" Roderich asked, having appeared at his side, and Lars handed him the paper.

"The Dragon Triad got to the shipment first," Lars realized, "We were fighting with Kohler and Vargas over empty crates."


	6. Chapter 6

Natalya was impressed to see that such a large meeting with opposing gangs could be peacefully arranged.

After the police intervention on delivery truck heist a few nights earlier, Maddie contacted Im Yong Soo with the idea of coordinating an intervention on the Kohler-Vargas feud. She suggested getting everyone together to negotiate the key issues between the groups, with the hope of resolving some of them before the police can take advantage of any more discord. After some phone calls with each group, Maddie had booked this warehouse for hosting the late-night meeting.

To keep everyone civilized, the Dragon Triad had been recruited as both a neutral party and crowd control. Yao and Wai Hau had been charged with greeting the two mobs when they arrived. Tables had been laid out in a square format at the middle of the room, allowing each mob to take a side with the Dragon Triad at the back end between them. The front end was reserved for Madeline, since she would moderate and direct the meeting. There was a table along the back wall with a few snacks and bottles of water.

Natalya paced at the back of the room, not wanting to sit down just yet, while Madeline talked to the boys at the front of the room. Xiao Mei was stretched out in her seat with her legs propped up on the table, far more interested in playing on her phone. They had left Katerina to guard the base, since she was generally uninterested in such meetings.

At least, that was the obvious excuse. The hidden one was that at least one of the two sisters should keep as clean of a criminal record as possible.

Some loud voices were heard from the hallway, and everyone turned to see Romulus Vargas show up at the room's entrance.

"Buonasera, amici," the boss greeted as he entered the room with his followers, "I believe the Kohler group will be close behind, we saw some vehicles pulling into the parking lot as we were walking in here."

"Good evening, Romulus," Madeline replied as the Italian came over and went to kiss her cheeks, "I'm glad to see you're all here."

"Almost all of us," Romulus corrected, "Gupta stayed behind to watch the base."

"We'll get your group on the far side of the tables here, to Madeline's left," Im Yong Soo announced, "Everyone, please remove your weapons and place them on the table against the wall. Wai Hou will cover them and prevent access to them during the meeting, and we'll have the Kohler group disarm themselves as well. The refreshments at the back are for everyone, we ask that you act civilly if interacting with members of the other groups while back there."

As the cluster of mobsters crossed the front of the room, Natalya noticed a man with short curly brown hair give Madeline and Yong Soo a quick greeting before moving along to see Wai Hou. The brunette looked in her direction, and she recognized the man's face and piercing green eyes immediately.

What the fuck was he doing here?

Nataya noted that she had stopped her pacing to stare, so she looked away for a few moments while he was placing his weapons on the side table. She looked up at the front where the Vargas twins were sticking around to flirt with Madeline a bit while Romulus spoke to Yong Soo, before looking back at the table. When the man left the table and headed in her direction, she immediately pretended she hadn't been looking and went to the refreshments table. She first reached for the fruit, taking a lovely slice of watermelon and placing it on a paper plate before reaching for a water bottle. As the tips of her fingers reached the lid, a larger tanned hand swooped in and took the bottle from her reach, prompting her to look into the eyes of the man.

"Buenas tardes, Natalya," he greeted with a smile.

"What are you doing here, Antonio?"

"I work for Signor Vargas, am I not allowed to have a job?"

Natalya huffed, as she looked away to pick at the fruit again.

"You haven't had a legal job since you became that bitch's personal bodyguard. Speaking of the bitch, where have you been hiding her."

"You really shouldn't speak so harshly about her, she is essentially your sister-in-law in all but the legal sense. As long as you keep insulting her, you don't deserve to know where she's hiding."

"You should be in jail. Both you idiots and the treacherous bitch."

"You see, Natalya, it's exactly that attitude that keeps us from trusting you with our whereabouts."

Natalya slammed her plate of fruit onto the table, and turned to look at his obnoxiously cheery face.

"If you don't watch yourself, I'll call the police on your ass right now."

Antonio's smile suddenly turned into a malicious smirk, and his eyes focused into a challenging glare.

"And what would you tell the police? That I'm hiding around in the mobs? Even if you did rat us out, you only have that to go on. You don't know where the Vargas base is, so you can't tell them where they can trap me. By the time the police could do anything with your limited information, I can be long gone."

Natalya mentally cursed at that one, the boys had done that to her and Katya before. Still, he didn't seem alarmed to know that she was here, which led to another question.

"You knew I'd be coming to this meeting, didn't you? That I'd recognize you?"

"That's the real game here, Natalya. We allow ourselves to be spotted momentarily before we disappear into the night again. After all, it's when the hunters give up on finding the elusive prey that it gets boring."

Natalya gave him a glare as she mentally scolded him. If this was indeed a game, it was the cruelest and most nefarious game that the trio could possibly conjure.

She then realized he had been using unusual grammar.

"What's with using the royal 'we'?" she asked.

"Antonio, please behave yourself," Maddie suddenly shouted from the table, surprising them both, "Natalya can be deadly when she wants to, armed or not."

"Lo siento, querida," Antonio replied, slipping back into a cheery expression in a split second as he turned to look at the others, "The lovely lady here is merely resisting my charm, she doesn't know what she's missing out on."

As everyone laughed at his remark, the door on the other side of the room opened to reveal Mikkel Kohler, and Yao went over to greet them with Im Yong Soo. Natalya tried to slip away while he wasn't looking, but he grabbed her elbow and pulled her in against him, bringing his mouth to her ear to whisper.

"I do suggest you behave yourself, querida. Identifying us in front of everyone here would only spell disaster, and such a move would still be in vain."

"You still haven't answered my question," Natalya pointed out, "Why the plural pronouns?"

"I'm only saying to keep your mouth shut," Antonio hinted, "I doubt I can convince you to do the same with your eyes."

With that cryptic explanation, Antonio finally left her and went to sit with the rest of the Vargas clan, with a few more bottles of water and her plate of fruit in his hands.

Natalya grabbed another bottle and slowly made her way back to her seat, watching as the members of Kohler's gang placed their weapons on the designated side table to Madeline's right. One by one, each member turned and came to the meeting table, and Natalya nearly froze in her spot when a large man with short hair the same shade as hers came into view.

She didn't even need the eye contact to confirm it was him.

Ivan raised his eyebrow at her, acknowledging Natalya's presence, before sitting down and talking to the woman beside him with long brown hair. Noticing she was still standing in shock, Natalya quickly sat down beside Im Yong Soo as if nothing had happened. She glanced at the other side of the table, where Antonio was blatantly watching her, arms crossed and a knowing smirk on his face. He didn't even notice the darker-haired Vargas twin slipping the slice of watermelon from the plate.

"Those bastards," Natalya muttered to herself.

"Who are these bastards you're muttering about?" Im Yong Soo whispered in her ear.

Natalya didn't get the chance to answer, as Madeline hit the table a couple times with a small wooden hammer to get everyone's attention.

"Alright, everyone, let's get this meeting started," Madeline demanded, allowing a moment for everyone to finish their whispering before continuing, "It doesn't take an idiot to realize that the mobs in this city are having territorial disputes, and this needs to be dealt with. The police are quickly closing in on us, especially that impulsive albino Sergeant, and every encounter between your mobs is increasing their chances of shutting you down for good."

"Maybe if some people didn't interfere with the delivery truck heist, we wouldn't have had this problem," a man with shoulder-length blond hair on the Kohler side blurted out.

"Vaffanculo, you interfered with our credit union heist first!" the lighter-haired Vargas twin yelled back.

"You shouldn't have been on our side of town!" the blond shouted again.

Both sides of the table had members stand up and start yelling at each other, and nothing could be understood over all the interjecting voices. Since the meeting was going nowhere for the moment, Natalya alternated her observation between the two key participants.

Antonio's comments to her earlier indicated that he knew Ivan would be coming, so they must have both known that they were in opposing mobs. She knew they must be avoiding harm to each other at the bare minimum, lest earning the ire of the trio's nefarious third member. If that were true, how much did they know about each other's work for the mobs? How much did the damn bitch know about what they were doing? If they are both here, could the bitch be hiding close by?

If at least two of the three are involved in the mobs, could they be up to something malicious behind the scenes?

The yelling was suddenly interrupted by a blaring sound, and everyone turned in surprise to see Madeline standing there with an air-horn in her hand. Once she had everyone's attention, she released her trigger on the air-horn and started hollering at the top of her lungs.

"You better all be sitting your asses down and shutting the fuck up within five seconds, or so help me God, I will lose it!"

Nobody dared argue with the blonde, and a few even muttered quick apologies in various languages as they sat down. A silence then filled the room that would allow them to hear a pin drop.

"You fuckers better listen up, because I'm only giving you this warning once," Madeline continued as she began pacing along her end of the table, "This warehouse belongs to a grouchy old lady who is sleeping upstairs as we speak. I warned her that she might hear this air-horn at least once if I need to shut you all up, but that's all the charity she will provide us. If I have to use this more than once, or if the yelling wakes her up, she has my permission to call the police and have them crash the meeting. Do I make myself abso-fucking-lutely clear?"

Various mutterings of acceptance and apologies came forward, and Madeline allowed her enraged expression to calm into a relaxed one. She took her seat again, placed the air-horn on the table, and picked up a sheet of paper that was there instead.

"Now, let us proceed with this meeting, shall we? As tonight's mediator, I understood that each group has various concerns that they want addressed, and we will attempt to get to each of them in turn. I already asked Mikkel, Romulus and Yong Soo for their ranking of importance for all the topics, and have put together this meeting schedule to keep our discussions to a single item at a time. If you do have a topic you want addressed, please keep it to either the section of the meeting it is involved in, or save it for any extra time we have at the end."

Natalya looked at the meeting schedule in front of her as Madeline began to introduce the first topic, noting that Im Yong Soo might be the only Triad member who would likely have much to say in the meeting. As she placed the schedule back on the table, she saw Im Yong Soo slide his hand under her arm and leave her a note. Her eyebrow raised as she discreetly took the note, unfolded it, and read its contents.

 _You didn't get to answer me before, and you still look agitated. Who were those 'bastards' you were muttering about?_

Natalya softly chuckled to herself, before grabbing the pen between them. She saw Yong Soo watching her as she flipped the note over, so she positioned her hand and allowed him to watch as she wrote a response on the back.

 _I'll have to tell you the long version later. The short version is that Ivan and Antonio are very dangerous ghosts from my past._

* * *

 _ **Author's Notes**_

 _ **Oh dear, what am I hinting at with Natalya's thoughts? She'll have more to say on it next chapter, and it's going to trigger some trouble.**_


	7. Chapter 7

Mikkel pulled the vehicle up to the red light, just as a ping went off on his phone. Since he was stopped for the moment, he had the chance to quickly open the message and read it.

 _I'm in position in the ceiling vent, Im Yong Soo is already waiting for you._

"Good girl," Mikkel muttered to himself, "I just hope you're not needed."

Spotting the address for the abandoned underground parkade, Mikkel turned into the entrance. He had to admit, the place was quite well-hidden, an excellent choice for a secret meeting between the mob bosses.

Maddie showed up at his base that morning to deliver a yellow envelope containing a phone number for contacting Im Yong Soo. The Dragon Triad boss had explained over the phone that he needed an emergency meeting with both Mikkel and Romulus that evening, and wanted them to arrive at the parkade at the specific hour. Elizaveta had overheard Mikkel's end of the call and wanted to come along, but Im Yong Soo specifically said not to bring anyone along.

As Mikkel drove into the section where Im Yong Soo was waiting, he felt secure knowing that he had broken that rule.

He had called Madeline immediately after speaking to Im Yong Soo, and hired her for the night. He told the freelancer where and when the meeting would be, and instructed her to hide there and observe in case the Dragon Triad or the Vargas clan attempted any funny business. Mikkel expected there would be trouble if she was found out, but he'd rather have backup than risk walking in there alone.

Mikkel turned his vehicle into the section, and saw Im Yong Soo standing there, his black car having been the only one in the small area. The Dane pulled into a nearby parking spot, turned off the car, and stepped out.

"Hey, Yong Soo," Mikkel greeted, "What's all this about then?"

"We just need to wait for Romulus, easier to talk to you both at once," Yong Soo replied, just as they heard the sound of another vehicle approaching.

Mikkel shut the door to his vehicle and walked over to Yong Soo, watching as a third black car pulled into the section. They could tell that Romulus was alone in the car as he parked it beside Mikkel's and climbed out.

"Looks like we're all here then," Romulus said as he approached.

"We are indeed, thank you for coming," Yong Soo said, as the door to his own vehicle opened, and a familiar blonde Triad member stepped out with some folders in her hand.

"I thought that we weren't supposed to have any associates with us," Mikkel asked, "Why is she here?"

"Natalya is here because she's the one who needs to talk to you," Yong Soo explained, before turning to the woman, "The floor is yours, honey."

"Gentlemen, at the meeting the other night, I noticed that you each have a mob associate who is hiding their true identity," Natalya revealed, holding out a folder to each boss, "I am not sure if you were aware of it, but they are very dangerous men that are likely dragging you into something deeper than you can imagine."

Mikkel took the black folder from Natalya's hand, and opened it to reveal documents and a picture of his associate.

"Ivan?" Mikkel gasped, "What has he done?"

"The last name 'Simonov' is a fake, as is 'Esposito' for Antonio," Natalya explained, nodding at the red folder she gave Romulus, "Their real names are Ivan Braginski and Antonio Fernandez Carriedo."

"Those names sound awfully familiar," Romulus said, "Weren't they in the news a couple years ago?"

"Surely you remember hearing about the disappearance of Mathilda Jones-Kirkland?" Im Yong Soo inquired as he handed Natalya the grey folder he was holding, "How the heiress is a wanted criminal for her fraudulent activities at JCI, among many other charges?"

"Ivan Braginski is the researcher that Mathilda Jones was cheating on Arthur Kirkland with," Natalya explained, "Antonio Fernandez Carriedo is the personal bodyguard that helped Mathilda escape when her husband discovered the illegal activities."

"And now Mathilda's two accomplices are hiding away in our mobs," Romulus concluded, "What would happen if the police find them working for us?"

"That depended on how much you knew," Natalya clarified, "If the mobs were shut down before tonight's meeting, then at least you could claim no knowledge of the situation when Arthur Kirkland identified them in jail."

"Of course, now that we've had this meeting, you can no longer use that alibi," Im Yong Soo affixed.

"Are you implying that, if we keep them hidden, Arthur Kirkland will brand us as accomplices to them, and therefore associate us to Mathilda Jones?" Romulus presumed.

Natalya nodded.

"I have a question for you," Mikkel objected, "Ivan has been loyal and dependable to me this whole time. How do I know that you're not feeding us bullshit?"

"I figured you might ask that," Natalya huffed, pulling out a sheet of paper from the grey folder and offering it over, "This should prove my connection to the situation."

Mikkel took the sheet of paper and turned it over. It was a name change certificate, showing that Natalya Arlovskaya was born with a different last name.

He looked up again and inspected her a little closer in shock. Despite being a woman, she looked nearly identical.

"You are Ivan's sister?"

"Katerina and Natalya Braginskaya both had their last names changed to Arlovskaya," Im Yong Soo made plain, "With the drama Ivan caused, they were being met with discrimination over their family name."

"Even though Katerina and I are completely innocent, and have been cooperating with police on the matter of our brother's crimes, our records are heavily flagged," Natalya justified, "If the police interact with us at all, they always detain us longer to ask about him. Katerina was once stopped for jaywalking, they held her in custody for two days just to find out what she knew of Ivan's whereabouts. As long as our brother runs free, we cannot live in peace."

"I'm sorry to hear about that," Mikkel relented, handing back the certificate.

"If I may ask, have you told the police that these boys were at the meeting the other night?" Romulus queried.

"I didn't, and all I'd be able to tell them was that they are with your mobs," Natalya illustrated, "I have no proof to hand over to the police, nor information on where to find them. And even if I could, Ivan and Antonio won't let it happen. They knew it immediately when I recognized them at the meeting, and they will be prepared for any trap I would dare try to set on them. The moment they realize that something's happening, they will disappear again. My only hope is through mob activity, which is why I'm telling you all this."

"What do you want us to do about it?" Mikkel questioned, "Surely you realize we don't want the police raiding our bases and arresting us all while hunting down Ivan and Antonio?"

"I understand your concerns, but you can outsmart them in ways I cannot," Natalya proposed, "While you may have plenty of crimes on your own records, Ivan and Antonio are much higher on the list of most wanted criminals. If you turn them in willingly, the police may reduce your own charges in exchange for your cooperation."

"This is truly a huge opportunity for everyone," Im Yong Soo supported, "With Ivan and Antonio finally behind bars, the police will be that much closer to finding Mathilda Jones, while Arthur Kirkland and Alfred Jones can have their vengeance. You mobsters can have some charges dropped, while Natalya and Katerina can finally have the red flags removed from their records."

"What about the heiress herself?" Romulus asked, "Do you have any idea where Mathilda is hiding?"

"She is the part of the puzzle I can't decipher," Natalya excused, "JCI never allowed the police or the press to show anyone her picture, so I have no way to identify her. However, if her lover and her bodyguard are both hiding here in the city as mobsters, I doubt she is far away from them. If anything, she could be hiding right under our noses."

"I must admit, I am in the same boat as Mikkel," Romulus determined, "Antonio has been incredibly loyal to me, and how to act on this information will be a difficult decision to make. I will still thank you for confiding in us, Natalya, this is certainly a risky situation we are in."

"I advise that you do not waste time making this decision," Yong Soo warned, "The longer you wait, the larger opportunity you give them to act first."

"They probably already have plans in mind, given that they know for sure I am with the Dragon Triad," Natalya added on, "If you drop them any hints about this meeting, they will know to flee while they can."

"I doubt either of us will want to take that risk," Mikkel assured, "Once again, thank you for informing us about this, Natalya."

"Thank you both for taking the time to listen, gentlemen," Natalya accepted.

"If you do want to coordinate any plans with us, please let me know," Yong Soo offered, "Natalya, Katerina and the rest of the Dragon Triad would be happy to assist in putting that nefarious trio behind bars."

"I'm sure you'll be hearing from me then, Yong Soo," Romulus affirmed, "Do we have anything else to discuss?"

"I don't believe so," Yong Soo confirmed, "If we do come across anything else, we'll let you know."

"Well, this is a wrap then," Mikkel concluded, "If you'll excuse me, I'll be heading back to my base and thinking this over."

"As will I," Romulus agreed, backing away to his vehicle, "Buonosera, signora, signori."

"Good night, gentlemen," Yong Soo replied as Natalya waved.

Mikkel climbed back into his car and turned it on. He had to wait a moment for Romulus to pull his vehicle out, so the Dane turned back on his phone and paired it up with the Bluetooth system. Once he was all clear, he pulled his vehicle out of its spot and proceeded to the exit.

"Call Madeline Williams," Mikkel spoke aloud.

The phone dialled out and rang twice before getting picked up.

"Hello, Mikkel."

"Are you clear?"

"Yong Soo and Natalya just shut the car doors, I'm all good."

"Looks like I didn't need you then, thank goodness. I'll wire you your money later."

"And what about Ivan? Do you plan to act on what Natalya told you?"

"I don't know, I have a lot to think about. I cannot stress this enough, though, Maddie: don't tell anyone about this meeting."

"My lips are sealed, Mikkel."

"Good girl. I'll talk to you later."

"Okay, bye bye."

Mikkel turned back onto the street as Madeline hung up on her end of the call, and he could hardly focus on the roads as he headed back to the base.

What should he do about Ivan?

* * *

Madeline hung up on her end of the phone call, and watched as Im Yong Soo's vehicle left the parkade section. Her perch in the ceiling vents was perfectly hidden away from the peering eyes, and yet she was able to hear the whole conversation.

Once she knew she was alone again, she crawled her way through the pipe, not having to worry about making any sounds. She reached the far end, pushed her back up against the wall of the vent, and pressed her hands against the grate covering her entrance to the pipe. She climbed out of the vent into the adjoining parkade section, and slowly strolled over to her car as she looked at her phone.

She opened the log to see the record of Mikkel's call as the most recent event, along with a message sent to two recipients moments before. She smirked as she opened the sent message and read it again.

 _The ice is melting beneath your feet. Report to the Bear Cave in the morning._

* * *

 _ **Author's Notes**_

 _ **I was expecting a review by now with someone questioning how I could be doubling up on characters named Ivan and Antonio, but that didn't end up happening...**_

 _ **Still, if you catch on to any intricate details that I am already weaving together, take a stab at guessing what I'm doing with all these characters. There is still a LOT coming, and this story will easily hit at least 40 chapters...**_


	8. Chapter 8

Toris had just finished cleaning his room when Mikkel knocked on his door.

"Hey, what's going on?" Toris asked.

"I have a recon job for you," Mikkel said, "Get yourself ready to leave at a moment's notice, then come to my office."

With the vague instructions given, Mikkel went back down the hallway.

Shrugging, Toris grabbed a pair of socks from the drawer, and pulled over his shoes from the door. The usual reconnaissance jobs Mikkel assigned him involved following a person around town and observing their habits, or watching the scene at the location of a potential upcoming heist. The situations were hardly ever dangerous, but Toris always had a couple guns and switchblades on him in case anything happened.

Once his socks and shoes were on, he grabbed the coat from the back of his door, already prepped with the weapons and spare ammunition, and went out into the hallway where Feliks walked by.

"Ooh la la, the recon jacket," Feliks teased, "It always reminds me how sexy you are in spy mode."

"Save it for when I get back," Toris flirted back, giving Feliks a kiss on the cheek, "Mikkel's got an assignment for me."

"Be careful out there, honey," Feliks said, returning the peck with one to Toris's lips before strutting past to his own room.

Toris chuckled as he walked off in the other direction. Although he had the ability to charm women if necessary for a mission, Toris actually preferred between with men. He was flexible in his sexual relations, but it wasn't until he met Feliks that his dominant side got more experience.

Toris reached the office, and saw that Mikkel was looking at paperwork on his desk.

"Shut the door, Toris," Mikkel instructed, "We don't need anyone overhearing this."

"Is it that serious of a mission?" Toris asked as he shut the door and sat down.

"It's so serious, I'm not even sure how to explain it," Mikkel replied while leaning back in his chair.

"Okay, how about you start with a key point, than elaborate on it?" Toris suggested.

Mikkel looked down and took a deep breath, before looking at Toris again and spilling the beans.

"Ivan might be a traitor."

Toris deadpanned, he wasn't expecting that.

"I beg your pardon?"

"I was told last night by an informant that Ivan is hiding his true identity, and that he is far too dangerous to be associated with," Mikkel revealed, "I was told that he is likely pulling strings behind our backs, and I should turn him into the police before he can stab me in the back."

"Holy shit," Toris gasped, "Do you believe whoever told you this?"

"They had very good evidence in their favour, that's for sure," the Dane acknowledged, "I want to deny it all on account of Ivan's loyalty, but I also want to know if he is indeed up to anything."

"What do you want to do about it, then?" Toris asked.

"I walked by his room a few minutes ago, it looked like he was planning to leave the base today," Mikkel explained, "I want you to follow him, see where he goes and what he does."

"You want me to spy on one of our own?" Toris confirmed.

"I don't like the idea either, but it's the only option," Mikkel admitted, "If he is planning something or meeting with people behind our backs, I need to know about it before he can turn on us."

"And if he is doing something suspicious?" Toris checked.

"Call me as soon as you can without getting caught," Mikkel answered, "If it's serious enough, we'll figure out a plan for turning him over to the police without him catching on."

Toris glanced at the ceiling while taking a deep breath. Whether or not Ivan was actually guilty of anything, resorting to spy on a colleague was certainly a sign of trouble on the horizon.

"I really don't like this idea, but I'll do it," Toris accepted, "If anything happens to me, I'm blaming you for putting me up to it."

"Thanks for this, Toris, I know it's not a good situation to be in," Mikkel commended, "You can leave the door open on your way out."

Toris stood up and went to leave the room. He opened the door to see Ivan standing at the table in the lounge.

"Ah Toris, Mikkel, hello there," Ivan greeted, "I'll be heading out for a couple hours, I have a few errands to run."

"Hey Ivan, could you stop by that bakery on 5th on your way back?" Mikkel shouted from his desk, "I'd love a Copenhagen pastry."

"Da, sounds good," Ivan answered before turning to leave, "I'll see you later."

Once Ivan had left the room, Toris looked over and saw Mikkel wink at him.

"There we go, a backup plan," Mikkel elaboraed, "If he does anything bad enough, I'll leave a tip for the police to meet him at the bakery."

Toris nodded, before going down the stairs himself. He paused at the bottom to grab a helmet and keys, before going out to one of the motorcycles. He had just started it up when Ivan was pulling his car out of its spot, so Toris intentionally allowed the Russian a few moments to pull ahead.

Once enough distance was made, Toris followed Ivan onto the busy street. There were a couple confusing intersections, but Toris was otherwise easily able to follow Ivan's car and not lose track of it. As the road led them both to a major bridge crossing the river, Ivan's car went down the exit instead, and turned into a large waterfront warehousing area used by the harbour's shipyard.

Toris followed him for one last left turn through the complex, only to find an empty alley between buildings ending at the shore, with no sign of Ivan's car. The Lithuanian pulled over beside the first building along the alley, and parked the motorcycle there. Leaving his helmet with the bike, he walked along the side of the building, noting that the buildings looked like abandoned warehouses. He reached the end of the wall on his side, and carefully peered around the corner.

There was another building hidden there, with a small parkade where Ivan's car was parked with a few other vehicles.

Toris hid on his side of the corner again, and calmed himself as he waited a minute to make sure Ivan wasn't still in the car. Hearing no sounds at all, Toris pulled out his gun and rounded the corner.

He watched every angle as he entered the parkade, but didn't find a soul. Once fully inside, he saw a door to the right and went towards it. He leaned against the door for a moment, listening for sounds on the other side and hearing nothing again. He tried turning the doorknob, and found it unlocked.

Toris cautiously pulled it open a bit, and was relieved to note that there was nobody on the other side reacting to the movement. He peered through the crack and saw that there was hardly anything immediately inside, just a staircase to the left heading upstairs. He pulled the door open the rest of the way and entered.

Watching the sound of his steps, Toris headed up the stairs, noting the blood red paint on the walls. As he approached the top, he saw the blood red paint continuing down a hallway, to the point where a bright sky blue suddenly joined it. He went up another step, and what he saw join the sky blue gave him a fright, prompting him to trip and fall forward on the stairs. After catching his breath, he slowly pulled himself up to peek past the last stair at the end of the hallway.

The sky blue belonged to a painting that featured an angry polar bear on the Arctic sea ice, its muzzle drenched in the blood of the dead seal at its feet. The bear was staring straight ahead with black beady eyes, as if Toris interrupted its dinner and was about to become the second course.

Toris stood up again, and saw that the bear was just at the turn in the hallway. He finally reached the top of the stairs, and noted how whoever designed this hallway with the red walls and that artwork had an eery sense of taste that even Feliks would approve of.

"Hello, Toris."

Toris leaped at the loud voice, pulling out his gun and aiming it in all directions, quickly noting he was still alone.

"What the hell was that?" he muttered to himself.

"That was the intercom," the voice replied, "No need to be sneaky anymore, we have you on camera."

"Who are you?" Toris asked the voice, noticing how it sounds like it was being distorted to disguise its owner.

"Let's just say I'm not ready to tell you," the voice continued, "What matters right now is that you have trespassed into my territory, and I will not tolerate that. Now, you will do as I say, or you will be shot dead, is that clear?"

"Crystal clear," Toris accepted.

"Remove all your weapons and place them on the ground," the voice instructed.

Huffing in defeat, Toris placed his gun on the ground, before opening up his coat and pulling out his spare guns and pocket knives. He placed them on the ground, and stepped back from the pile.

"That's everything," he shouted back.

"Get down on your knees, with your hands on your head, and shut your eyes," the voice commanded next, "My friends will come and get you."

Toris did as he was told, taking one more step back from his weapons in a show of good faith before kneeling down, placing his hands on his head, and shutting his eyes. He listened carefully at the silence, before it was interrupted by footsteps and figures pressed against each side of them. Someone pulled his hands off his head and in front of him, and Toris heard the jangle of handcuffs. As his wrists were restrained, a bag was pulled over his head, and tightened at the neck to keep Toris from trying to pull it off. Once cuffed and blinded, Toris was pulled to his feet and dragged backwards down the stairs, and he felt the breeze of fresh air as they went back out the door.

After a bit more movement, he heard a car door opening, before the figures pushed him into the vehicle. Noting the height of the push and the long seat, Toris could tell he was in the back seat of an SUV or truck. The door was shut, and Toris could hear the figures talking outside, but not enough to hear what they were saying or recognize their voices. A car door to the left opened and shut, before the vehicle was turned on and started backing out.

"Where are we going?" Toris asked the driver.

No answer was given, so Toris settled for trying to feel the movements of the vehicle. He could feel the movements of the vehicle turning, and the change from gravel to well-paved roads. While the well-paved roads had a few sways to the right and left, Toris quickly lost track of where they might be. He began to wander exactly how far this base of theirs was going to be from where he got caught.

They hit a patch of gravel road again, before the truck stopped entirely and was shut off. Toris could hear the driver open their door, before the one to his right was opened and another figure pulled him out. He was pulled along again for a few minutes, before the two figures spun him, grabbed him below the arms, and dragged him up a set of stairs. At the top, they allowed him to stand on his own feet and walk again, leading him further into wherever he had been taken.

Finally, he was spun again and forced to sit down, and something that felt like straps bound him to a chair. Once they let go, Toris tried to budge, only to find they had restrained him quite well. He suddenly heard a door slam shut, before the bag was pulled off his head, and he looked around.

He was in a brightly-lit interrogation room, with a table, two chairs, and what was likely a one-way mirror on the wall. There was only one other person with him in the room, and Toris rolled his eyes and groaned.

When he finally looked at the person again, Toris could only come up with one thing to ask.

"Ivan, what the fuck?"


	9. Chapter 9

"How's your brother enjoying the academy?"

"Luddy is doing very well, he's top of the class right now. His last exam is at the end of November, he'll be eligible to start working in January."

Sadiq listened to Lars and Gilbert chatter as they walked back into the police department. Heracles and Kiku had gone out together, and Bella had other work to finish up, so it was just the three of them catching up on things while having lunch at a nearby restaurant.

"It's possible Ludwig gets on here, actually," Sadiq disclosed, "Roderich is keeping an eye on him, but you didn't hear it from me."

"That would be awesome to work with my little brother," Gilbert replied enthusiastically, "I'll leave the hiring to Roderich, of course."

"I thought he was also planning to attend law school," Lars inquired, "Will he continue with that later on?"

"I'm not sure, he could work his way into that," Gilbert explained, "He was planning to do that after finishing his political science degree, but he saw me having too much fun and decided to follow my footsteps."

"At least he didn't flunked out of law school before joining the force," Sadiq teased as they walked past the front desk.

"Gilbert, over here!" someone called, and the group turned to look at the receptionist. She was waving him over, as if to speak to the visitor standing at her desk.

"Looks like you have a guest, Gilbert," Sadiq commented, turning to see that Gilbert had frozen in place, "What's wrong?"

"That man at the desk works for Mikkel Kohler," Gilbert said in a hushed tone, "He was at the delivery truck heist."

"Gilbert's right, he's the one that locked up the truck and pocketed the keys," Lars supported, "What should we do?"

"Lars, you circle behind him, cut off his escape if he tries to run," Sadiq instructed, allowing Lars to go back around to the front.

"What about me, Sadiq?" Gilbert asked as Sadiq pulled him behind the desk.

"He wants to see you, so go talk to him," Sadiq explained as he pushed Gilbert ahead, "Find out what he wants, and see if you can get me a name to look up on the computer."

Gilbert strolled up to Suzie's side at the desk, while Sadiq went to her computer and pulled up the ID database program.

"Gilbert, this gentleman had something to give you," Suzie reported before turning back to the man, "You said your name is Toris, right?"

Sadiq's eyebrow arched at the name. He remembered documenting 'Toris' as the name of one of Mikkel Kohler's henchmen, and prepared to find the list of names he previously put together.

"Yes, ma'am, that's right," he replied.

"That's a different name," Gilbert commented, "What is the last name that goes with it?"

"Laurinaitis," Toris answered, after giving a small huff.

Sadiq quickly pulled up the search bar on the ID program and typed in the last name.

"Well, then, Toris Laurinaitis, what can I do for you?" Gilbert asked.

"I was asked to have this delivered to you," Toris explained, holding out a thick paper envelope for Gilbert to take.

"What's in here?" Gilbert inquired, accepting the envelope.

Sadiq hit enter on the keyboard, and quickly found Toris's entry in the database.

"I don't know," Toris said, "I was told not to open it."

"Who sent it, then?" Gilbert pried.

Sadiq clicked on Toris's entry, and watched as the screen filled with his outstanding list of crimes and the warrant for immediate arrest.

"I'm not sure of that either," Toris said, "It's a bit complicated."

Sadiq looked past Toris and discreetly motioned for Lars to come closer.

"So, let me get this straight," Gilbert summarized, "A mysterious person asked you to walk into the police station and drop off a package with undisclosed contents for me?"

"Yes, that's about right," Toris confirmed.

"And once the package was delivered, were you planning to just stroll out of here?" Gilbert guessed.

"That was the best-case scenario," Toris admitted, slipping a glance at Sadiq, "With the way your colleagues are watching me though, I doubt you're going to just let that happen."

Sadiq chuckled, that was his queue.

"So, Toris, you're well aware of what we have on file for your criminal record?" Sadiq intervened, "And you understand that we have the authority to arrest you on the spot?"

"I understand completely," Toris relented, and Sadiq motioned for Lars to step in.

"Well then, Mr. Laurinaitis, you are under arrest," Sadiq stated, "Book him in, Lars, and see when we can get him into an interrogation room."

"What about the package, Sadiq?" Gilbert asked.

"Put it through the X-ray, see if you can figure out what's in there before it can explode and kill us all," Sadiq ordered, before turning to watch Lars put the cuffs on Toris, "I do have one more question for you, Toris. Is Mikkel Kohler involved in this?"

"He's not, and he knows nothing about it," Toris denied, "If anything, he's one of their targets."

"You're going against your boss, then?" Sadiq realized.

"If you could manage to keep this quiet, I'd greatly appreciate it," Toris requested, before Lars motioned to Sadiq that he was ready to take the criminal away.

"We'll be having a good talk about this, Toris," Sadiq said, "Take him away, Lars."

While Lars guided Toris away, Gilbert returned with the package.

"X-ray shows no harm," Gilbert reported, "There is a small device that looks like a USB drive, otherwise it looks like paper and bubble-wrap."

"Open it up, then."

Gilbert tore opening the top end, and discovered that the envelope was lined on the inside with bubble-wrap. He tipped it upside down, allowing the small item to drop into Sadiq's hand. As Sadiq stared at the black USB drive, Gilbert pulled out the only other item, a folded sheet of paper. He unfolded it, and the pair of officers read the letter written in red marker.

"You're kidding me," Gilbert muttered, "Could it really be her?"

"If there's a chance, I have to treat it as such," Sadiq relayed, grabbing the phone and dialling the familiar extension that was answered on the third ring.

"Yes, what is it?"

"Roderich, it's Sadiq. One of Kohler's men just dropped off a package for Gilbert. It has a USB drive and a letter from Mathilda Jones-Kirkland."

* * *

"One of the treats is still in here," Tino pointed out, looking in the box of pastries sitting on the kitchen counter in the Kohler lounge, "I think it's the Lithuanian treat that Toris likes, whatever he calls it."

"Zagareliai," Feliks amended, watching Tino and Berwald run around the kitchen from his comfy chair at the table, "They're called zagareliai."

"Where is Toris, anyways?" Elizaveta asked, sitting across from Feliks with her feet on the table, "I haven't seen him all day."

"He went off on a task this morning," Berwald reported, pulling pans out of the cupboard, "Haven't seen him return yet."

"Well, he better soon," Tino said, closing the box and moving it to the fridge, "I want to try one of his zagareliai."

"What are you boys making for dinner?" Elizaveta asked.

"Köttbullar," Berwald answered.

"Yeah, we still don't speak Swedish," Feliks commented.

"He is making meatballs," Tino translated, "I'll be mashing some potatoes to go with it."

Elizaveta was the next to say something, but Feliks didn't hear her words over the sounds of Emil calling Lukas over to the computers. The Pole turned and watched as the brothers looked closely at something on the screen, before Lukas rushed off to Mikkel's office.

"What's the buzz, Emil?" Feliks pried.

"The buzz might be some very bad news," Emil answered, before Mikkel suddenly bolted out of his office with Lukas following closely.

"Emil, show me," Mikkel demanded, rushing to Emil's side and looking at the computer.

"What's going on?" Elizaveta quizzed, now paying attention as well.

"Bloody fucking hell," Mikkel muttered before turning back to speak to everyone else, "Has anyone seen Ivan?"

"Yeah, he's in his room, I think," Feliks answered, watching as Mikkel went and leaned into the frame of the wall leading into the hallway, before yelling at the top of his lungs.

"IVAN, GET THE FUCK IN HERE, RIGHT NOW!"

"Mikkel, what happened?" Elizaveta repeated intensely.

"I shouldn't have sent him into that trap," Mikkel babbled aloud as he frantically paced.

"What if he was arrested for something entirely different?" Lukas inquired, "It doesn't say how it happened or whose fault it is, maybe he did something else entirely to get the police's special attention."

"Did you just say that someone get arrested?" Feliks checked.

"Yes, Toris did," Emil revealed, "He ended up in police custody this afternoon."

Feliks paralyzed in fear at the news. Although Toris wasn't officially his boyfriend, Feliks was close to thinking of him in that way. Reconnaissance jobs are usually the most straight-forward, and they were Toris's specialty, so what could have gone wrong today?

"What did he do?" Tino queried, "How did it happen?"

"The reports won't say," Lukas disclosed, "The police have made that information classified."

"You called for me, Mikkel?" Ivan asked in the doorway.

"Yes, I did call for you," Mikkel stated, pulling out a gun and pointing it at Ivan, "Please explain to me how Toris is in jail and you are not."

The other group members gasped at the withdrawal of the weapon, and subconsciously prepared for a reaction. Feliks leaned forward in his chair and looked at Ivan, noticing the completely neutral expression on the Russian's face.

What could Ivan know about Toris's arrest?

The room became silent for a moment, before the Russian tilted his head and calmly responded.

"I'm afraid I don't follow your logic there, Mikkel."

"Quit the bullshit and tell the truth," Mikkel accused, "You knew Toris was following you, and so you put him in the hands of the police."

"I was not aware he was following me," Ivan denied, "Why would he be doing that?"

"Because I told him to," Mikkel declared.

"And why would you instruct him to follow me?" Ivan asked, "Do you doubt my loyalty?"

"I know who you really are," Mikkel blurted out, "Your sister -"

"My sister? You've met one of my sisters, have you?" Ivan interrupted, a knowing smile suddenly surfacing on his face, "I believe I understand now. My sister told you I might be a double-agent, so you sent Toris to follow me, only for him to mysteriously end up in police custody. Is that what you are getting at?"

"What other explanation is there?" Mikkel charged.

"Oh, there are many possible explanations that would clear the blame from my account," Ivan countered, "Perhaps I was hiding my past for a good reason, and have otherwise been entirely faithful to your cause. Perhaps Toris made a mistake on his own, and you are using me as a scapegoat for his failure as a spy. Perhaps you're using me as a scapegoat for your own failure in choosing to have Toris spy on me, rather than simply asking for the other side of my sister's story. Whatever the reason, it's clear how this should be resolved."

"And what solution would that be?" Mikkel asked, "A bullet to your head? Turning you into the police like I should have done this morning?"

"Oh no, neither of those will be necessary," Ivan shot down, "Since you have chosen to no longer trust me, it appears that my presence here is now unwelcome. I will go pack my bags and leave immediately. Don't worry about me talking to the police, you must already know what a huge mistake that would be on my part. Such a pity, Mikkel, you were rather entertaining to work for."

Ivan turned and walked out of the room, leaving everyone else frozen in shock as they tried to process what happened.

"Feliks, follow him," Mikkel ordered, "If he tries to tell the police where our base is, we need to know."

Feliks did a double-take before turning to Mikkel in alarm.

"You're sending me to follow him?" Feliks complained, "After what happened to Toris?"

"Yes, now go," Mikkel enforced sternly.

Feliks relented and rose from his chair. He strolled out of the living area and down the hallway, slowing his steps to make them as quiet as possible the closer he got to Ivan's room. Once at the door, he peeked through to see Ivan grabbing a bag from the closet and start stuffing his clothes into it.

Feliks slid past the door, and gently lowered himself to sit on the floor against the wall as inconspicuously as possible. Moments later, Elizaveta marched into the hallway and stopped to lean in and whisper.

"Where is your emergency bag?" Elizaveta asked him.

"Under my bed," Feliks whispered, "Do you think I'll need it?"

"You focus on watching Ivan," Elizaveta answered, "I'll handle everything else."

Feliks watched curiously as Elizaveta continued down the hallway and turned into his bedroom. Back in the spring, they had a near-scare when a rival mob discovered the location of their base and almost managed to tell the police about it. Since then, several of them kept a spare bag of clothes and supplies under their beds, in case they ever needed to make a run for it.

Did Elizaveta believe such measures were now needed?

Elizaveta popped out of Feliks's room with his bag, and proceeded into her own room. Within moments, she was walking back down the hallway, with both her bag and Feliks's hanging off her shoulders, and a familiar pair of shoes in her hands. As she approached Feliks again, she leaned back down, and dropped Feliks's shoes at his side.

"I'll get a van ready," she whispered before walking away again.

Feliks slipped on his shoes as he watched Elizaveta meet with Mikkel at the end of the hallway by the lounge. He handed her a third bag and whispered something before she continued on and went downstairs.

He peeked into Ivan's room, and saw the Russian throw the bag strap over his shoulder. Knowing it was time to move, Feliks sneaked over to the next door over and slipped into Berwald's room. He positioned himself by the door in the unlit room, and leaned past to look down the hallway.

At that moment, Ivan left the moment, glanced in Feliks's direction, and started walking down the hallway. Before reaching the lounge, he stopped by the little alcove where a spare computer was kept, reached out and touched it for a moment. After that, the Russian continued on his way past the lounge, and down the stairs at the far end.

Feliks immediately jumped to his feet and rushed after the Russian. He barreled past the lounge, unaware that everyone else was watching him, and bolted down the stairs. He went flying out the door at the bottom, into the alley where the cars were parked. Ivan's car was already pulling out of its spot, and Feliks watched as the Russian shifted gears and drove off towards the street. The van to Feliks's right suddenly started up, and he jumped as he turned to look at it. Elizaveta was already in the driver's seat, and she rolled down the passenger side window.

"What are you waiting for?" she shouted, "Get the fuck in here, now!"

Feliks rushed over and pulled on the door handle. He barely had one foot off the ground before Elizaveta switched gears and put the van in reverse.

"Holy shit, woman, cool your jets!" Feliks whined as he climbed in as quickly as possible.

"No way in hell am I doing that," she answered as she finished backing the van out and switched gears again.

As she pulled forward to the street, Feliks put on his seatbelt. He glanced at the back seat and saw three bags there, recognizing his own emergency bag along with Elizaveta's and a special one that came straight from the safe in Mikkel's office.

"You convinced Mikkel to give you emergency cash?"

"Ivan might not dare talk to the police, but that won't stop him from telling anyone else about where the base is," Elizaveta explained, "As for Toris, whatever he was arrested for, their number one question is still obvious."

"You think one of them will spill the beans?"

"All I know for sure is that I have a very bad feeling about all this, so I persuaded Mikkel to let me act on it. If the base is found while we are gone, at least we'll have some supplies, this van and some cash to help us lay low."

Feliks watched the roads as Elizaveta turned on the street, and spotted Ivan's car a bit further ahead.

"There he is, Liz. Let's find out where he thinks he can run to."


	10. Chapter 10

Gilbert stood at the desk in front of the one-way window, looking through into the interrogation room where Lars was making Toris sit at a table. As Lars left the room, Gilbert looked down at his own desk in front of the window, where the USB drive and the letter sat, and read through the letter again.

 _Dear Gilbert,_

 _This USB will allow you to find the operation bases of the Kohler crime gang and the Vargas crime family. It was originally made by the JCI R &D department, so feel free to call on Vash if you want a hand figuring out how it works._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Mathilda Jones_

Gilbert shook his head, still in disbelief. He had just flunked out of law school when Mathilda first made headlines by running away, and it inspired him to get enrolled in the police academy and become an officer. Although she could easily have been caught before he could work on her case, he was intrigued by the idea of hunting down the biggest criminals in the world. And now, just over two and a half years later, Mathilda Jones had specifically reached out to him, and boldly offered him the biggest piece of evidence yet in the mob cases.

The door opened beside him, and Roderich strolled into the room.

"Toris is ready to start, Sadiq is waiting for Vash Zwingli at reception," Roderich said, "You can begin the interrogation, Gilbert."

"You're actually letting me interrogate someone?" Gilbert checked.

"You've had an impact on the mobs lately, and Mathilda specifically wanted you involved," Roderich explained, "I'll be monitoring you from here, of course, but otherwise Toris is all yours. Impress me."

Gilbert walked around Roderich, went back into the hallway, and entered the interrogation room. Toris immediately looked up and smirked.

"Ah, hello again, Gilbert," Toris greeted, "I don't get to talk to your Lieutenant?"

"He's busy, so I get the chance to crack you open," Gilbert commented as he sat down, "Why don't we start with who sent the package? You said at reception that it was a bit complicated, how so?"

"The people who gave me the job were hiding their identities from me," Toris explained, "They were using blindfolds, one-way windows, and microphones with distortion filters to keep me from figuring out who they were."

"It was multiple people then? All hidden from you?"

"At least two people were hidden entirely from me. There was one other who did show his face."

"Who was that?"

"A colleague of mine, Ivan Simonov."

"What kind of colleague? Another mobster?"

"He also works for Mikkel Kohler, mainly as a hired gun."

"Was he there at the delivery truck heist? What does he look like?"

"Yes, he was the big burly one on our sides without glasses, with platinum blonde hair and purple eyes. The two of us kept Lovino Vargas from getting into the truck."

Gilbert frowned as he realized something.

"You told Sadiq at reception that Mikkel was a target for whoever sent the package," Gilbert repeated, "Do you have reason to believe that Ivan is working against Mikkel?"

"Ivan actually confirmed it. I was asked who I would be loyal to if I knew that Ivan could beat Mikkel in the race to have each other arrested."

"Why would Mikkel want Ivan arrested?"

"Mikkel informed me this morning that Ivan was hiding something from everyone, that he might be a traitor. I was ordered to spy on Ivan and see what he was doing, so I followed him to a warehouse by the harbour where I ended up in a trap."

"Which warehouse?"

"I don't remember seeing an exact address, but I highly doubt it's their base. They caught me on camera, and they had me shut my eyes while they blindfolded and cuffed me. I was put in a car and taken to another location."

"Damn," Gilbert grunted, "Sorry, please continue."

"As I said, they took me to another base. When the blindfold was taken off, I was in an interrogation room with Ivan, and his colleagues were hidden behind a one-way mirror. They used microphones equipped with distortion filters when they wanted to speak. They got me to explain why I was following Ivan, and they gave me the choice to either join them or die."

"They wanted you to betray Mikkel and join their group?"

"Yes, they offered me their protection in exchange for my loyalty and services."

"And you'd be dead if you refused?"

"They were prepared to shoot me on the spot."

"Delivering this package would be your first job for them then?"

"An audition, actually, they wanted to test me first. If I opened the package myself, or gave it to someone other than the police, they'd kill me by sunset."

"Did they know you would be arrested on the spot?"

"I warned them it was probable, but they assured me I had nothing to fear. I hadn't been told enough about their group to spill the beans on anything, so they said I was free to cooperate and tell you everything. As long as I completed the delivery, I would be accepted into their group and have their protection."

"How exactly will they give you protection if you're already in jail?"

"I'm not entirely sure about that part."

Gilbert stood from his chair and started to pace the room as he processed everything in his mind.

"Okay, Toris, let's see if I have this right," the Sergeant spoke aloud, "Mikkel found out something about Ivan that made him doubt the Russian's loyalty and trustworthiness. Kohler ordered you to spy on Ivan, which you did to the point where you got caught red-handed. You were then taken to an interrogation room where Ivan and his unidentified colleagues got you to spill the beans. They gave you the choice to either work for them or die, and delivering this package to me was the audition for joining them and earning their protection."

"Yes, that is correct."

The door opened before anything else could be said, and Gilbert turned to see Roderich enter the room with a tablet in his hand.

"Everything alright?" Gilbert asked, halting his pacing and standing at attention.

"Yes, you're doing well so far, Gilbert." Roderich replied, "I have a question for you, Toris. What do you know about Mathilda Jones-Kirkland?"

"She is the JCI heiress that ran away," Toris divulged, "All I know for sure is what was on the news, about how she broke some major laws, cheated on her husband, and disappeared with millions of dollars."

"Have you had any interaction with her?" Roderich inquired.

"Not that I'm aware of," Toris admitted.

"So you genuinely had no idea that the package you delivered includes a letter signed by her?" Roderich checked.

"Holy shit, really?" Toris gasped, leaning forward in his chair.

"What about this man, do you know who he is?" Roderich asked, showing Toris whatever was on the tablet.

"Yes, that's Ivan," Toris verified.

"And you said his last name is Simonov?"

Toris nodded, and Gilbert frowned as he looked at Roderich in confusion.

"What of this other man, do you know him?" Roderich moved on, swiping on the tablet to show something else before letting Toris see it again.

"Yes, he works for the Vargas family," Toris attested, "Antonio Esposito, I think his name was."

"Are you aware that Ivan Simonov and Antonio Esposito are both using fake last names?" Roderich inquired.

Toris leaned back in his chair, speechless for a moment, allowing Gilbert to realize the Lithuanian truly had no clue what Roderich was talking about.

"So, what is Ivan's real last name, then?" Toris finally asked.

"I'm afraid that is highly classified information, Mr. Laurinaitis, your cooperation on the matter is appreciated," Roderich refused, "What you need to worry about is the numerous other crimes we have on your file, and the fact that we will send you to prison as soon as we can arrange it. If you will please excuse us for a moment."

Roderich motioned for Gilbert to follow him out of the room, and the Sergeant was careful to lock the door shut after him. They went back into the other room where Sadiq had been listening with Arthur Kirkland, Alfred Jones and Vash Zwingli.

"So it's true then?" Alfred immediately asked, "He's had direct contact with them?"

"Only Ivan and Antonio are confirmed, Mathilda would be indirect contact at best." Roderich corrected as he placed the tablet on the table.

"Would someone please tell me what is going on?" Gilbert demanded, "Since I'm the one this information is going through, I'd like to understand what this is all about."

Everyone hesitated and stared at him for a moment, before Roderich gave a small huff, picked the tablet up again, and passed it over.

"Gilbert, do you remember seeing these men at the delivery truck heist?" Roderich asked, allowing Gilbert to swipe between the two ID pictures on the screen.

"Yes, I saw them both there," Gilbert vouched, "The blond dragged Lovino Vargas away from the truck, while the brunette jumped into the brawl to help Vargas before Toris tried to pull him away. Why do you ask?"

"The blond is Ivan Braginski, former researcher in JCI's R&D department," Roderich revealed, "The brunette is Antonio Fernandez Carriedo, Mathilda's personal bodyguard."

"They're the ones who helped Mathilda escape, aren't they?" Gilbert clued in.

"They certainly are, and thanks to Toris, we now know that they're hiding in the mobs," Arthur added on, "We can finally catch that wife-stealing Russian and Spanish scumbag."

"What about Mathilda, though?" Alfred interrupted, "I thought you said something about her interacting with Toris, and yet he didn't seem to have a clue about it."

"Toris brought in that envelope this afternoon," Sadiq explained, pointing to the evidence on the counter, "The letter is signed with Mathilda's name, and claims that Vash can help us figure out what is on the USB in order to shut down the mobs."

Vash left the side of his superiors, picked up the USB drive and inspected it.

"This USB was definitely originally made by JCI, possibly by Ivan himself before he helped Mathilda with the supercomputer," Vash analyzed, "Considering the note, I think I know what program will be on it. Roderich, do you mind if I plug it into my computer?"

"Go ahead," Roderich permitted, and Vash pulled a laptop computer out of his shoulderbag.

"If I may ask, what is this supercomputer you mentioned?" Gilbert pried.

Arthur raised his eyebrow in suspicion at the Commissioner, only to receive a nod in response.

"He's involved now, he can know more," Roderich certified.

"While Mathilda was managing the R&D department, she and Ivan built a supercomputer that could hack, corrupt and destroy all JCI and government databases," Alfred explained, "They were very protective of it, and we didn't think anything of their precautions. That is, until the national nuclear missile launching protocols were hacked, and the government traced it back to their project."

"When Vash tried to track down security recording of the hacking being done, we found footage of Mathilda and Ivan shagging in her office," Arthur added bitterly, "As her bodyguard, Antonio was helping to protect their secrets, and he arranged her escape after we discovered her activities."

"This USB has a JCI GPS-tracking program, just like I thought," Vash reported, ending the story where it was at, "This USB holds the master program, and traces the location of any other USB that is paired to it. Once a paired USB is plugged into any computer, the program on this one can trace its exact location, down to the specific corner of a room in a 40-storey building. It can even track the amount of time the paired USB is plugged in for, in case it is unplugged before we find it."

"If this is the master, then Mathilda must have sent a paired USB to one of the mob bases," Gilbert caught on.

"Both their bases, actually," Vash corrected, "This one has two USBs paired with it, and there's even a legend for the colour-coding. I already have a grey dot showing me where the Kohler base must be, while the red dot for the Vargas base has yet to show up."

"Did you just say we know where to find Mikkel Kohler?" Sadiq repeated.

"You should mount an operation right now, then," Arthur suggested, "Catch Ivan while he is still at the base."

"I don't think you'll find Ivan there," Gilbert warned.

"Why not, Gilbert?" Alfred queried.

"Mathilda's the one who sent this USB to us, so she must need someone to get into each base to plant the paired USBs," Gilbert determined, "That's what Antonio and Ivan are there for. She would've told the boys what the USBs are for, and instructed them to leave their bases as quickly as possible after the job is done. In other words, whether or not we use Mathilda's method to shut down the mobs, Ivan and Antonio will escape."

"Gilbert's right, we won't catch the boys this way," Vash supported, "Like Mathilda said in her letter, this plan is specifically for shutting down the Vargas and Kohler mobs."

"What of the Dragon Triad?" Sadiq asked, "Are they connected to this at all?"

"Doesn't look like it, she would've paired a third USB if that were the case," Vash dissented, "I'd wager they focused on the ones causing the most trouble."

"Gilbert, Sadiq, round a team up and prepare to storm the Kohler base," Roderich commanded, "Vash, if you wouldn't mind sticking around, I'll have you help us track the paired USBs at both bases."

"What about Toris?" Gilbert asked, motioning at the Lithuanian still waiting for them in the interrogation room.

"I'll have Lars return him to the holding cell," Roderich dismissed, "We can send him to the county prison tomorrow morning."


	11. Chapter 11

"Lovi, do you believe what Nonno told us? Can Antonio really not be trusted?"

"I don't know, Feli. And keep it quiet, will you? He might hear you from the floor!"

Feliciano turned back to scrubbing the last of the dishes in the pizzeria's kitchen. Lovino and Feliciano had been charged with closing up shop, along with Antonio as the waiter on the floor. Their grandfather had requested that Antonio stay at the base overnight for his own safety, instead of heading back to his apartment after the closing shift.

However, Romulus added on a bit more information when explaining it to the twins: Antonio might be a traitor, and they needed to keep an eye on him at all times.

"Leave the sink full when you're done," Lovino instructed as he came to Feliciano's side, dropped a couple more kitchen utensils on the counter beside the sink, and grabbed a wet cloth, "I'll need to clean the knife after slicing up the pizza."

"Why did Nonno go out?" Feliciano asked, "If it's not safe for Antonio to go back to his apartment, then how is it safe for Nonno to be out on the town?"

"Nonno and Miguel shouldn't be long, they just went to check in with some informants," Lovino assured as he wiped down the nearby counter, "He wants to find out what he can about the Kohler base getting busted by the police, and make sure we're not next on the list."

Feliciano rinsed the last dish in the sink, before drying his hands and coming to his brother's side.

"Antonio couldn't be involved in that, do you think?" Feliciano whispered, "He's been here since early this afternoon, how could he turn in the Kohler gang while serving tables?"

"As I said, I haven't a clue," Lovino hissed back, "For all we know, Toni could be colluding with whoever turned in Kohler, and they plan to do the same to us."

"Dio mio," Feliciano muttered.

"The tables and bar are all done," Antonio reported as he strolled through the kitchen doors, "Everything done in here?"

"Yes, I think we're done," Feliciano stuttered, taking a quick glance around to make sure of it, hiding the fact that he and Lovi were just whispering about the Spaniard.

"The pizza should be ready any second," Lovino advised, "Since you're stuck here with us, we were thinking of having a movie night."

"That sounds like fun!" Antonio cheered, "How about I pour us some drinks, and get the movie set up in the den upstairs?"

"I'll come with you, Antonio," Feliciano offered, "We can grab a bottle of red wine on the way."

"You guys go ahead," Lovino encouraged, just as the oven buzzed, "I'll slice this pizza and bring it up."

Feliciano followed Antonio to the stairs, and they stopped at the wine rack at the bottom.

"What's on the pizza, Feli?" Antonio quizzed, looking at the bottles, "We want the wine to match it nicely."

"Lovi made it, so it probably has lots of tomatoes, meat and oregano," Feliciano guessed, reaching for a bottle he recognized, "Whatever he did, there's nothing like Chianti from Tuscany to go with pizza!"

"Italian red wine with Italian pizza, how perfect a match!" Antonio observed as he slipped the bottle of wine from Feliciano's hands and led him up the stairs. They each greeted Gupta on their way past the computers, before arriving at the den and flicking on the lights. Feliciano strolled right past Antonio, over to the wall filled with DVDs.

"What should we watch, Toni?" he queried, turning back to see that Antonio had gone to the bar.

"Why don't you pick the movie, Feli?" Antonio replied as he brought out three wine glasses, "I'll just pour the wine here."

Feliciano turned back to the DVDs, and noticed a familiar case.

"How about Kill Bill?" Feliciano proposed, "We can do a marathon with both volumes!"

"Ah, that's the only way to enjoy The Whole Bloody Affair," Antonio accepted, popping the cork on the bottle of wine, "Get the first one going!"

Feliciano pulled the case off the shelf and walked over to the entertainment system, trying to keep his eyes on the bar. As Antonio poured the wine, Feliciano had to look away for a few seconds to put in the disk and hit the right buttons on the players and remotes. While he was turned away, the Italian thought he heard two other small bottles pop open, but glancing at the bar again proved nothing as Antonio finished pouring the wine. The Spaniard grabbed one of the glasses and took a sip just as Lovino entered the room with a pizza in one hand.

"What are we watching?" Lovino asked, grabbing a wine glass from the counter, allowing Antonio to grab the last one for Feliciano.

"Kill Bill, we'll do both volumes," Feliciano relayed, hitting the last button to make the movie start before hopping over to the couch and taking the left side.

While Lovino moved the pizza to the middle of the coffee table, Antonio took the middle seat of the couch, and handed Feli the last glass of wine. The Italian sipped at his wine and allowed the robust taste to fill his mouth, along with something else.

"That's strange, the wine is a bit sweet," Feliciano noted, "I've never noticed that with this brand before."

"I can't spot any sweetness," Antonio replied, as Lovino took a sip from his own glass as he stood up, "Must be your perfectionist tongue."

"Or maybe your tongue has a lot to learn," Lovino snapped back, walking back to the door to hit the lights, "Fratello's right, it's a little sweeter than normal, although not overpowering."

Feliciano shrugged and took another sip when Lovino hit the lights. With the television screen filling the darkness, the Italian grabbed a slice of pizza, and hardly noticed his brother sitting on the couch as the movie got going.

* * *

The moment Lovino opened his drowsy eyes, he knew something was wrong.

The first thing he saw was the movie playing on the big screen, showing the scene where Beatrix was on her way to face Bill. As much as Lovi loved these movies, he had never fallen asleep through them before. It's a little hard to doze off when Uma Therman is fighting the Crazy 88's, and yet Lovino hardly remembered reaching the scenes in Okinawa.

The second thing he saw was the coffee table, where half the pizza was still untouched, and two of the three glasses of wine weren't even finished off. Lovino knew for a fact that the pizza should have been devoured by now, and they would've already grabbed a second bottle of wine.

The third thing he saw was the couch, where Feliciano had drooped down to stretch across the couch and sleep, taking up the space where Antonio had been sitting between the twins.

Lovino frowned. Where was that damn Spaniard?

He leaned over and tried to shake his brother awake, but it didn't work. Knowing that something else was always guaranteed to wake up both twins, Lovino smirked as he grabbed the curl in Feliciano's hair and pulled hard.

"Vaffanculo," Feliciano groaned slowly, "Let me sleep in peace."

"Wake up, fratello," Lovino pushed, giving his brother another shake to the shoulders to keep him from falling back asleep, "I think something is going horribly wrong here."

"Okay, I'm up," Feliciano grumbled again as he sat up and looked around in confusion, "Did we sleep through the movie?"

"Not only that, but we hardly touched the food and wine," Lovino confirmed on, standing up and stretching, "That has never happened before."

"Where's Antonio?" Feliciano asked.

"Not here," Lovino answered, walking over to the door, "I think something happened."

Lovino flicked the switch on the wall, and turned to look as the lights came back on, freezing in his place when he saw a couple small purple vials on the bar counter. He walked over, picked one of the two vials up, and read the label that had been left on it. There was a complicated chemical name, but Lovino knew exactly what it was advertised as on the black market.

A sleeping serum.

He looked back at the coffee table, realizing that Antonio was the only one to finish his glass of wine, and the only one to not notice the unusually sweet taste to it.

"Feliciano, who poured the wine?" Lovino interrogated, "Please tell me you at least watched Antonio pour it."

"Antonio did it while I picked the movie," Feliciano answered, "I watched him as closely as I could, but had to turn away a couple times to fiddle with the entertainment system."

Lovino tossed the vial over for his brother to look at, while he checked the label on the second vial to confirm it was the same serum.

"Antonio drugged our wine and put us to sleep," Lovino alleged as he pocketed the second vial and stormed out of the room, "We need to find him immediately."

"Where do we look?" Feliciano grilled, following his brother closely, "Should we tell Nonno?"

"You go upstairs and start searching there, tell Nonno if you don't find Antonio," Lovino instructed, "Gupta is on overnight computer duty, I'll see if he knows anything."

Feliciano bolted over to the staircase while Lovino marched in the other direction down the hallway, quickly arriving in the lounge. Gupta was the only one in the dark room, sitting at the computer.

"Gupta, have you seen Antonio?" Lovino requested as he approached the Egyptian's right side, "I think he tried to drug me and my fratello."

The Italian looked at the computer screens, and didn't see anything of interest in Gupta's browsing. After a few moments, Lovino realized that the police scanners were the only source of noise in the room, and turned to look at Gupta sitting motionless in the chair.

"Gupta, did you hear me?" Lovino checked, "You didn't fall asleep on the job, did you?"

He grabbed the Egyptian's shoulder and shook it, making Gupta's head fall forward limply. Noting a flash of red in his sight, Lovino spun the chair to look at the left side of his head. Gupta's keffiyah had a red bloody spot in the fabric, surrounding what looked like a small hole. Lovino gently reached over, placing a couple fingers from his left hand along the neck while pulling the keffiyah up with his right hand.

As if the bloody bullet wound in the head weren't enough confirmation, the skin at the neck was cold, and there was no pulse.

Lovino backed away from the corpse in shock, bumping a computer dial as he did so. The volume suddenly skyrocketed on the police scanners as a result, and Lovino attempted to cover his ears as he reached over to turn it back down. While decreasing the volume, Lovino heard something that caught his attention on the scanner.

"We have confirmed the location of the Vargas base, available units converge on the location."

Lovino gasped in alarm. Did they find the base?

"This is Lieutenant Adnan, paging all units. The target is the Sapori d'Italia pizzeria at Douglas and 6th. The first units will be arriving at the location in 3 minutes."

"Merda," Lovino swore as he reached over and pulled on the fire alarm. He allowed the loud bells to ring through the building for a few seconds, before turning on the connected PA system and shouting into the microphone.

"Everybody, wake the fuck up and evacuate the building! The police have found our base, they'll be here in 3 minutes!"

Lovino turned off the microphone, and rushed over to the stairs. If the police were that close, there wasn't time to grab anything other than his shoes, a coat, and keys for a vehicle. He slipped on his shoes as he heard yelling above him, before his brother ran down the stairs to join him.

"Antonio isn't there, and the others were all still asleep," Feliciano reported as he grabbed his own shoes, "Should we wait for the others, or do we run for it?"

"We don't have time to wait for anyone," Lovino answered, throwing a coat at his brother, "Even we might not yet be lucky enough to escape!"

Lovino bolted down the stairs, hearing his brother's footsteps follow closely behind. He grabbed a motorcycle helmet and a set of keys before barreling out the door into the alley. Spotting the right bike, he rushed over to it, swung his legs over, and started the engine. Lovino felt his brother mount behind him, and reach around to hang on.

"Andiamo, Lovi," Feliciano pleaded in his ear, "I think I hear sirens!"

Lovino backed the bike out of its spot, before switching gears. They quickly moved forward and turned onto the street, picking up speed as soon as possible. As they turned right onto 6th Street, he nearly lost his focus on the road as a rush of flashing police cars went by in the other direction and turned left towards where the twins came from.

"Dio mio, Lovi," Feliciano whimpered, "Where do we go now?"

"I don't know, fratello," Lovino exhaled, "For now, we can only hide."


	12. Chapter 12

Toris stared at the ceiling, unable to fall back asleep.

After his interrogation the previous day, they had been courteous enough to give him a decent cell for the night. He didn't have to share with anyone, and the cot was better than nothing. Only the side and back walls were entirely closed off, the front wall consisted of bars that allowed him a view of everyone going by if he wanted to people-watch. There was also a clock on the wall across from his cell, which allowed him to keep track of how it was now 5:30 in the morning on October 16th. The solitude and fair treatment allowed Toris to contemplate on what the Commissioner had let slip, and what it meant for his situation.

Since he was young, Toris knew he had a detail-oriented mind, and a good ear for gossip, that's what made him such a good recon specialist and spy. As such, when Mathilda Jones-Kirkland originally made news by running away with her lover-boy researcher and loyal bodyguard, Toris looked through as many of the released details as possible. The Commissioner may have claimed the rest of the situation was classified, but there were enough details revealed for Toris to piece the rest of the story together.

To start, Ivan Simonov's real last name was Braginski. The mobster was hiding his past as the JCI researcher that fell in love with the married heiress.

Also, if Ivan Braginski was the one interrogating him, then Antonio Fernandez Carriedo and Mathilda Jones-Kirkland must have been the pair of associates who had been hiding behind that one-way mirror with the distortion filters on the microphones.

If that were also true, then that opportunity for Toris to work for the most dangerous trio in the world must have been offered by the JCI heiress herself.

This led to a more relevant question. How would Mathilda and her henchmen protect Toris, if the police had him in custody and planned to send him to prison for his previous crimes?

His thoughts were interrupted by approaching voices, and the sudden clinking of metal against the bars at the front of his cell. He sat up and saw the Lieutenant standing there with another officer, while a third was unlocking the cell.

"Ah good, you're awake," the Lieutenant remarked, "It's time to move, Toris, we're taking you to the county prison."

Toris stood from the cot and approached them as the door was pulled open by the younger officer with the keys. He was halted before he could step through, and the third officer brought out a pair of handcuffs to bind his wrists in front of him. Once secured, the longer-haired officer nodded at the Lieutenant.

"He's ready, Sadiq," the officer confirmed, "Lead the way."

Toris followed the Lieutenant down the hallway, with the other two officers taking up the rear. As they passed other cells, Toris was able to glance inside and see they were occupied. The first cells held the Monacan woman and the Portuguese bodyguard who worked for Romulus Vargas. They were both wearing nightclothes, as if they had been pulled out of their beds when arrested.

Toris nearly paused as he saw who was in the third cell, before one of the officers pushed him along. Emil had been huddled in a ball against the wall, not even bothering to use his cot. The boy had looked out at Toris, and it was obvious he had spent the night crying.

"What happened to Emil?" Toris asked the officers.

"We think he lost a family member," the officer who cuffed him replied, "One of the corpses at the Kohler base looked like it might have been his brother."

Toris nodded solemnly as he kept walking, understanding the implied report that Lukas had not survived the bust. Losing interest in looking at the cells, Toris stared at the ground, not noting who was in the next cell until the occupant started calling for him.

"Toris, wait!"

Toris looked over and saw Mikkel rushing over to the bars, only for the Lieutenant to come over and bang his baton on the bars.

"Back away from the bars, Kohler," the Lieutenant ordered.

"Toris, what happened with Ivan?" Mikkel pleaded, "Did he give you to the police?"

"He didn't have to," Toris replied, "It was my choice."

As Mikkel frowned in confusion, Toris turned to the Lieutenant, who was watching him with a raised eyebrow.

"Shouldn't we move along, Lieutenant?" Toris criticized.

The Lieutenant slowly nodded before leading the way again. As Toris followed Sadiq around the turn in the hallway without looking back, he could hear Mikkel beginning to yell out to him.

"Toris, what have you done? Get back here and tell me, you traitor!"

"I thought you didn't want him to know, Toris," the Lieutenant pointed out, "If he ends up in the same prison as you, he'll want vengeance."

"He's the one who sent me to spy on one of our own," Toris justified, "I warned him it would be his fault if something happened to me."

"I wasn't aware that criminals would respect ethical boundaries," the officer who unlocked the cell commented.

"Criminals can still have morals, Tomas," the officer who cuffed Toris countered, "The laws they break just show where their morals may be a bit below society's standards."

"Heracles, please don't turn this into another philosophy debate," the Lieutenant groaned, "We've already been up all night, and you'll put me to sleep behind the wheel."

The Lieutenant halted at the end of the hallway and grabbed some paperwork from a waiting officer, before opening the door and leading them on. They turned and went down a set of stairs, before entering a parkade with several police vehicles waiting for use. The Lieutenant led them to a prisoner transport van that was being prepped for use by other officers.

"Tomas, you will sit in the back with Toris," the Lieutenant demanded, "Heracles, you can be my passenger."

"Are you sure you should be driving, Sadiq?" Heracles inquired, "You did just say you might fall asleep at the wheel."

"At this point, you're more likely to than me," Sadiq assured, "Once we get back, Roderich will give us the time off to go get some rest."

Toris was led to the back of the van, and given a push as he crawled in. He went to sit on the bench on the passenger side towards the front corner, while the officer named Tomas sat across from him in the middle of his bench.

The door was shut on the pair and locked tight, and the engine started up a few seconds later. Within a few more minutes, Toris could feel the van shift gears and start moving. The sides of the van were made of steel with no windows, so Toris zoned out as he stared at the blank space in front of him. The movements of the van were very steady, although Toris could feel a few turns along with the changes in speed. Through the front panel, he could hear a murmur of the heated discussion Sadiq and Heracles were having in the front seats. Within what was likely a few minutes, the van seemed to have picked up speed, and Toris assumed they had made it onto the highway.

Out of nowhere, an unknown force suddenly hit Toris in the back. His body flew across the van, and his head banged against the opposite side before he could stop himself. Toris slumped down against the bench beside Tomas, his head dizzy and the back of his neck throbbing in pain. As the dizziness subsided momentarily, he was able to look over and see Tomas looking at him in concern.

"Toris, are you okay?" Toris could barely hear the officer say, "Are you hurt?"

"My head is dizzy, and my neck is in pain," Toris grumbled, "What the hell was that?"

"Okay, Toris, I need you to stay awake for me," Tomas instructed, "You might have a concussion, and it would get worse if you lose consciousness. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, I'll try to stay conscious," Toris promised, before a pounding against the wall beside him made his head throb again.

"Tomas, are you okay back there?" the Lieutenant shouted from the front, "Are either of you hurt?"

Tomas excused himself as he crawled past Toris, allowing the Lithuanian to see the bench where he had been sitting. The passenger side was dented and significantly caved in by the powerful force that had sent him flying.

"I'm okay, Lieutenant, but Toris might have a concussion," Tomas shouted back through the panel, "What happened?"

"We just got rammed into, the van is pinned against the highway barrier," the Lieutenant explained, "Heracles is unconscious and a bloody mess, I'm paging dispatch right now."

"Sounds like we'll be here for a few minutes, Toris," Tomas elaborated as he turned back to him, "If we're pinned against the highway barrier, then Sadiq will likely have trouble getting out his door to unlock ours."

They heard the Lieutenant say something at the front, but couldn't make out the words. They suddenly heard four crisp bangs, loud enough to make Toris's head throb again. Before he could recover, Tomas was banging against the panel blocking them from the front seats.

"Lieutenant, is everything alright?" Tomas shouted, "What were those bangs?"

After waiting for a few seconds without hearing no reply, Tomas pounded against the panel again.

"Sadiq, can you hear me?"

After a few more moments, they finally heard another sound, but from the other end of the van. Someone was trying to open the back door.

"Toris, back yourself into the corner," Tomas warned as he faced the door, "I don't think that's Sadiq opening the door."

"What makes you say that?" Toris questioned, shuffling over as he was told while Tomas positioned himself between the prisoner and the door.

"Because he didn't answer me, and those bangs sounded like gunshots," Tomas explained, allowing Toris a view of his hand poised by the gun on his own belt.

The door finally clicked and opened, and although Toris couldn't see who it was, he knew it was trouble when Tomas swore aloud and tried to grab his gun. Before the officer could aim, a gunshot was fired, and the deafening sound made Toris dizzy again. Once he was able to see clearly again, Tomas's body had fallen limp, and was hitting the floor of the van face-first. Toris looked past the newly-deceased officer at the open door of the van. A very familiar woman was standing there with a gun in her hand.

"You okay there, honey?" she asked.

"What are you doing here?" Toris demanded in return.

"I do believe I offered you my protection as an employment perk," she defended, "After all, you did pass my audition with flying colours."

Despite the pain in his head and neck, Toris understood exactly what she was implying, and he knew exactly what to ask next.

"You're Mathilda Jones, aren't you?"

The woman chuckled as she flashed him a devilish smirk.

"I see you figured out my secret," she confirmed, "I didn't expect the police to tell you anything."

"The Commissioner dropped a few hints," Toris clarified, "I put the rest together."

"Well, smartass, you have a choice," Mathilda threatened, pointing the gun at him, "You can die in this van right now, or you can accept my job offer."

"And work for the most dangerous woman in the world?" Toris amended with a smirk, "There's no way in hell I could refuse that offer."

"That's a good boy, Toris," Mathilda accepted, putting away the gun while looking at him in concern, "Now, are you hurt at all?"

"I banged my head, some whiplash and dizziness for sure," Toris relayed, "Tomas here thought I might have a concussion."

"Okay, we'll have to watch you carefully then," Mathilda noted, "Will you be able to crawl over, or do I need to climb in there to pull you out?"

Pulling on the edge of the bench, Toris moved himself along towards Mathilda, pushing Tomas's body out of the way. The movement made his head and neck hurt even more, but Toris managed to keep himself far enough to reach Mathilda.

"Here we go, darling," she encouraged, pulling him slowly out of the van and onto his feet, "You just lean on me, Toris, I'll guide you to our car."

Toris attempted to keep his vision clear and his feet moving, in order to help Mathilda move him to the passenger side of the black car parked nearby. When his dizziness subsided for a moment, Toris glanced over and saw a familiar Spaniard shut the back door on the driver side, before climbing into the driver seat. Mathilda pulled open the back passenger door and helped Toris sit down in the seat.

Toris looked around inside the car, grateful that Mathilda shut his door gently to avoid irritating his sore head. Mathilda was entering the front passenger seat in front of him while Antonio started up the car, and there was a first aid kit in the middle beside him. There was an open cooler on the floor between the two seats, and there was a hand pulling an ice pack out. Toris watched as the hand returned to its master sitting to the left.

"Help yourself, Toris," Ivan approved, placing the ice against his nose, "We've got more first aid supplies at the base."

"How did you get hurt?" Toris asked, reaching for an ice pack.

"I drove that garbage truck into the police van," Ivan explained, gesturing to something out the window that Toris couldn't turn his head to look at, "The airbag was slightly delayed, so I hit the wheel hard."

Toris placed the ice pack against the back of his neck, immediately relaxing at the cool touch numbing the pain. As his mind became more alert, another question came forwardd.

"Ivan, your real last name is Braginski, isn't it?"

"You already knew that?" Antonio chuckled from the driver seat, "How so?"

"It would appear that Roderich dropped enough hints for Toris to put together the rest of the story," Mathilda repeated for him, "The clever boy figured it out on his own, and still accepted the job offer."

"If he's this good in his audition, just wait until he really starts working for us," Ivan commended, "I told you two he'd be a worthwhile addition to our group."

As the others continued muttering, Toris leaned back in his seat, keeping the ice pack against his neck as he realized two things.

First, he was in a truck with the police's top three most wanted criminals.

Second, he just climbed the rankings to fourth place.

* * *

 ** _Author's Notes_**

 ** _Well, if the story is named after Mathilda, then doesn't she have to show up at some point?_**


	13. Chapter 13

"Please, signora, don't turn me away like this! My nonno was one of your best customers!"

"Absolutely not, Vargas! Your grandfather was a crook, you are a fugitive from the law, and we no longer serve your kind, so beat it!"

The door was opened, and Feliciano was pushed through the door, out of the club, and into the chilly November air. He swiftly fell down the steps, and landed in a puddle on the sidewalk, barely avoiding slamming his face into the pavement. The Italian ignored the giggles from the hookers watching him, and turned to look at Priscilla yelling at her bodyguards in the doorway.

"Keep that mafia scumbag and his good-for-nothing twin out of here, and call the cops if he tries to get in again!"

Watching as the owner marched back into her bar, Feliciano rolled himself out of the puddle and back onto his feet. He strolled down the street and brushed the mud off his clothes, realizing he had ruined yet another suit.

"You know, for an Italian, you're doing a terrible job keeping those nice clothes in good condition."

Hearing the familiar voice, Feliciano stopped and turned towards the alley he had just walked by. A man with shoulder-length blond hair was standing there, leaning against the wall and appraising him.

"Vaffanculo, Kohler scum," Feliciano retorted, "I have no time for your bullshit."

"Keep it down, would you?" Feliks hissed, "Some of these onlookers like talking to coppers, and I'd rather they didn't know to gossip about me."

"What do you want, then?" Feliciano asked as he approached.

"For starters, a truce and a chance to talk," Feliks proposed, "We've both been through some crazy shit, and from what I just saw with Priscilla giving you the boot, you're also trying to get back on your feet. Perhaps we each have information the other can use, or even an opportunity to work together."

"I suppose that sounds fair," Feliciano accepted, "Let me call over my brother."

As Feliks nods, Feliciano looks over to the other side of the street, noting his brother looking around for him. He whistles loudly and waves, earning Lovino's attention. The twin looks both ways before crossing the street and joining them at the alley entrance.

"What are you doing here, Feliks?" Lovino asked immediately.

"He's in the same boat as us, Lovi, play nice," Feliciano assured, "He only wants to talk and exchange information."

"We're heading in there," Feliks instructed, motioning towards the van at the end of the alley, "Elizaveta's waiting for us."

"How did you get the van?" Feliciano asked.

"Elizaveta and I happened to be driving around in a van while the base got busted," Feliks answered.

Feliks went and pulled the door open, and showed them inside. Feli took a peek inside and noticed several supplies stored in the back and a lady in the driver seat.

"Holy shit, it is you!" she exclaimed, "Well, get in here, boys!"

Feliciano climbed in first, and went towards the back of the van. He had to sit on the floor of the van, since the seats had been removed, but there were blankets and pillows to make himself a little more comfortable. While Lovino and Feliks also piled in, Feliciano saw the nearby bag of apples and loaf of bread, and the sight made his stomach growl.

"If you're hungry, help yourselves," Elizaveta offered, prompting Feliciano to grab the loaf, "We might not have a kitchen in this van, but we're making do where we can."

"Thank you so much," Feliciano acknowledged as he grabbed a piece of bread before handing it to his brother, "We've had to pinch our pennies while finding warm and filling meals, it's very difficult."

"We've had to do the same, living off whatever groceries can be eaten without cooking," Feliks supported, "We were looking for you for a while actually, we wondered where you had gone off to after the busts."

"We've been trying to find anyone that will help us," Feliciano explained while chewing on the bread, "The barkeepers that our Nonno got along with keep kicking us back out onto the street."

"We tried that as well, and haven't had any luck either," Feliks concurred, "They don't seem to want any connections with fugitives of the law."

"We thought of trying to get a hold of either Madeline or the Dragons, but we don't have their contact information," Elizaveta added on.

"I had Madeline's number, but it was out of service," Lovino reported between bites, "We think she ditched her SIM card and went into hiding as soon as she heard about the busts."

"We also tried to find the Dragon Triad base, since Nonno had a lead on it before this all happened," Feliciano elaborated, "We checked out that Asian restaurant in the East End, the Golden Dragon, but it was shut down. There was a notice of sudden permanent closure on the door, dated the 16th of October."

"The day after the busts?" Elizaveta muttered, "Any sign of life?"

"We tried calling the business phone number, there was no connection," Lovino denied, "We even checked the back alleys, the place had been abandoned."

"So we can't rely on Maddie or the Dragons," Feliks summed up, "There went that hope."

As they paused in silence for a moment, Feliciano grabbed an apple, and thought of another question as he took a bite.

"If you don't mind me asking, how did you manage to escape the busts?"

"Feliks was sent to follow Ivan just before the bust, and I tagged along," Elizaveta disclosed, "With the fight between Ivan and Mikkel, I had a very bad feeling about what could happen, so I grabbed our emergency bags and some cash to take with us."

"What fight?" Lovino pried.

"Mikkel somehow came into contact with Ivan's sister, and found out that he was hiding something really bad about his past," Feliks elaborated, "The morning of the 15th, Mikkel told Toris to follow Ivan and see if he was doing anything suspicious. Ivan returned after lunchtime, but Toris never returned. It was later in the afternoon when Emil saw the alert on our computers that Toris had been arrested."

"How did he get arrested?" Feliciano asked.

"Nobody knows, the police made the file classified," Elizaveta remarked, "Mikkel immediately accused Ivan of giving Toris to the police, and spilled the beans in front of all of us about meeting his sister. Ivan denied the allegations, but immediately decided to quit his work for Mikkel and leave the base."

"Do you think Ivan gave the police the location of your base?" Lovino accused, "That he betrayed you all?"

"We don't know for sure, but Ivan implied that talking to the police himself was a bad idea." Feliks claimed, "Still, Mikkel didn't trust him not to talk, so I was sent to follow, and Elizaveta chose to come along."

"After last spring's near-scare on our base getting found, we made contingency plans in case it ever happened again. We each kept a bag of spare clothes and supplies under our beds, as well as a couple bags of cash in Mikkel's office, in case we ever suddenly needed to make a run for it. " Elizaveta elaborated, "With what happened to Ivan, I grabbed Feliks's bag along with mine and some cash, and we followed Ivan in this van when he left. When we tried to return to the base later, the police already had it surrounded. Berwald, Tino and Lukas had all been shot dead, while Mikkel and Emil joined Toris in jail."

"We first thought we could seek refuge with your grandfather, but you were busted down that same night," Feliks added on, "Sorry for your loss, by the way, I should've thought of that right off the bat."

"It's okay," Feliciano said, "We're coming to terms with it."

"How did the police find your base?" Elizaveta asked, "For them to find one base is strange enough, but both the same night is crazy."

"The story might be tied to yours actually," Lovino started, "Nonno heard from an informant that Antonio couldn't be trusted."

"Antonio?" Feliks repeated, "The Spaniard?"

"The evening of the 15th, when he heard about your base being busted, Nonno and Miguel went out to get more information," Feliciano elaborated, "He instructed Antonio to stay at the base that night after his shift instead of going home to his apartment. He told him it was for his safety, but we were told to not let him out of our sight. It started off easily enough, we closed up the restaurant before making ourselves a pizza. We grabbed some wine to go with the pizza and put on a movie upstairs. The two of us fell asleep during the movie, and Antonio was gone when we woke up. While we were trying to figure out what happened, Lovi found two vials of sleeping serum on the counter."

Lovino pulled the vials from his pocket and held them out for Elizaveta and Feliks to inspect.

"You think Antonio drugged you?" Elizaveta put together as she read the label on a vial.

"We immediately searched the base for him, but it was too late. Antonio was gone, Gupta was dead, and the police scanners were reporting that they were already almost at the base," Lovino continued, "We immediately sounded the fire alarms to wake everyone up, but Feli and I were the only ones who managed to escape."

"Wait, did you just say that Gupta was already dead before the police got there?" Feliks pointed out, "We thought the police shot him down with Romulus and Vladimir."

"He was on computer duty that night, so I went to talk to him while trying to find Antonio," Lovino explained, "He wasn't answering me, so I went to shake him by the shoulder. That's when I saw where the bullet was put in his head."

"So, if your suspicions are correct, then Antonio was the one who drugged you boys, killed Gupta, and possibly gave the police your base's location?" Elizaveta summed up.

The twins nodded, and Feliks huffed as he gave back the vial and shook his head.

"And here we thought Ivan was trouble," he muttered, "Sorry, but I think you boys got the short end of the stick."

"We've checked the news whenever we could for updates," Elizaveta said, "Filching newspapers, watching the news at cafes, getting internet access at the library, you name it. It sounds like Miguel, Veronique and Emil will be in prison for several years each, while Mikkel is going to have the worst sentence."

"What about your other friend, Toris?" Lovino asked.

Elizaveta and Feliks glanced at each other in suspicion and worry, before turning to face the twins again.

"We think something happened to him, but the police are hiding it," Feliks explained, "There hasn't been a single update on what happened to him since the police got him earlier that day. Elizaveta has a theory, but I personally find it hard to believe."

"We'll listen to it," Feliciano said, "Any ideas could be of use."

"In the morning on October 16th, there was an accident on the highway between a police van and a garbage truck," Elizaveta explained, "The police Lieutenant and two Sergeants were found dead at the scene."

"Yeah, we heard about that," Lovino confirmed, "It was all over the news with the busts."

"Well, the eyewitnesses had a few stories that they managed to share before the police shut them all up and put out their own press release. The witnesses said that the garbage truck driver actually escaped unharmed, and that another vehicle was there to pick him up. Someone in that other vehicle opened all the doors of the police van and made sure the three cops were dead."

"They wanted the cops dead?" Feliciano asked, "Why would they want that?"

"Because of the other person who was in the police vehicle," Elizaveta elaborated, "It wasn't a regular police van, it was a prisoner transport van, and they were supposedly taking a criminal to a county prison. And the Commissioner wouldn't have his top Lieutenant driving that van unless that was a high-profile prisoner they were moving."

"You think Toris was in that van?" Lovino concluded, "And that whoever totalled that police van was breaking him out?"

"Feliks doesn't believe me, but I think it's very possible," Elizaveta said, "The highest profile criminals they would've had in the holding cells at the police department in the previous 48 hours were from the mob busts, and Toris is the only one there hasn't been any update on since."

"Holy shit," Lovino muttered.

"Between our groups, there are six deaths, four arrests, four escapees, and three unaccounted for," Feliciano summarized, "If Ivan and Antonio planned this, they sure managed to take the bulk of us out in one fell swoop."

"With the majority taken out at once, Ivan and Antonio will likely disappear for a while," Feliks assumed, "The police appear to be relaxing a bit more now in their hunt for the rest of us, but we can never let down our guard. All they need is for one prisoner to tell them about what we've been up to the last few years to lock down warrants for our immediate arrests."

"I wouldn't put it past anyone to talk," Lovino argued, "If they know what's good for them, they'll use information on us to bargain on their prison sentences."

"Whatever safety nets they may know about can no longer be used," Elizaveta added on, "The four of us have to start from scratch."

"Where have you been staying?" Feliciano asked, realizing he was sitting on their pillows, "Have you been living out of this van?"

"This van is the best we can get," Feliks explained, "The homeless shelters work with the police for screening entrants for criminal records, so we can't go there. Everything else costs money, and we can't afford an apartment. How about you guys?"

"We've found a couple warehouses here and there with doors that were easy to unlock in the middle of the night," Lovino said, "Otherwise, we've had to huddle together in secluded back alleys. We've spent our limited money already, we're scant broke now."

"Well, we can't let you go back to that, now can we?" Elizaveta stated, "You're going to stay right here with me and Feliks in this van, we'll figure this all out together."

"Are you sure about that?" Feliciano asked, "Will this van be big enough for the four of us? Can you handle the strain on your food and supplies?"

"Don't bother arguing with Lizzie, she's stubborn whenever she goes into mother-hen mode," Feliks explained, "Yes, we'll have to share the van and supplies, but it's better than sending you boys back to the alley."

"We'll have to share the blankets and sleeping bags tonight, but we can pick up more tomorrow," Elizaveta elaborated, "Two of us can recline in these front seats, while the others will share the floor in the back."

"What about food and money?" Lovino questioned, "How will we manage that?"

"We can buy a few more things in bulk, and we can pool our income prospects," Feliks said, "As long as you boys put in the effort to improve on our situation, we'll gladly work with you. Any other questions?"

Before anyone could say anything, they were some shouting outside. Feliciano peeked out the back window, and saw a couple people shouting outside the building's side door in the alley, before heading back inside moments later.

"I've got one last question," Feliciano said, "Is this really the safest alley to spend the night in?"

"We found a quiet spot by the park that does much better than this," Elizaveta said before turning in her seat and starting up the van.

"Just chill in the back here, and hang onto something," Feliks instructed, "As long as she can see out the back window, you'll be all good."

Feliciano got himself comfortable in his spot, before turning to look at his brother. Once eye contact was made, Feliciano raised his eyebrow, silently asking if he was okay with this choice of allies.

Lovino nodded back in reply.

* * *

 ** _Author's Notes_**

 ** _There's a lot of intricate details in this chapter, so I'll sum up what happened._**

 ** _Romulus and Vladimir were both killed during the Vargas bust, while Veronique and Miguel were arrested. As discussed, Gupta was already dead before the police arrived._**

 ** _Lukas, Berwald and Tino were killed during the Kohler bust, while Mikkel and Emil were arrested._**

 ** _Madeline and the Dragons appear to have gone into hiding, and couldn't be reached by the others for refuge._**

 ** _As we all know, Toris has vanished with Ivan and Antonio._**


	14. Chapter 14

"Christmas-themed caviar? How fancy can they get?"

"The party is being thrown by Alfred Jones and Arthur Kirkland, what did you expect?"

Gilbert ignored his brother's remark as he used a cracker to scoop some caviar from the dish the waiter was carrying around the ballroom. He slipped the food into his mouth, and mentally thanked the small cracker for mellowing down the strong taste of fish. After swallowing, Gilbert sipped on his champagne to rinse his mouth a bit.

Seriously, why do rich people love caviar so much?

In thanks for their hard work through the fall, Alfred and Arthur had invited Roderich, Gilbert and Lars to the large socialite masquerade Christmas Ball they were hosting at the fanciest hotel in the city. The enormous ballroom was already ornately designed before getting swamped with holiday-themed decor, and the balconies on each side's second floor allowed a fantastic view of the dance floor, the stage at one end of the room, and the grand staircase at the other end leading back to the lobby.

Gilbert listened to his brother chatting with Roderich and Lars. Ludwig had finished top of the class at the police academy and graduated at the end of a November, and Roderich immediately recruited him to the force. The younger Bielschmidt would follow his brother's footsteps in having Kiku as his training mentor for his time as a Corporal.

Although Gilbert lost his original partner, he gained a new one. As nice as the promotion was, though, it only arose from unfortunate circumstances.

They were all devastated when Sadiq, Heracles and Tomas were found dead on the highway that horrible morning in October. Not only did they have to control their emotions and stress levels while investigating their deaths, they had to convince the public that it was only a tragic car accident. With the busy night they had just before with the mob busts, they couldn't risk confirming to the public that the officers had very suspicious bullet wounds.

Once the dust settled, Roderich made his choice for the new Lieutenant. Kiku had been top of the list, but he declined in favour of remaining a mentor to new recruits, so the position went to Lars instead. Bella was the first choice to remain with Lars as his partner, but she chose to follow in Kiku's steps and mentor instead, so Gilbert became the Lieutenant's new partner. Bella would train Raivis Gallante, a classmate of Ludwig's, while another academy recruit named Eduard von Bock would be trained by Lenka for internal affairs.

The group was distracted as the richest man in the world approached them all.

"Hey guys, great to see you all," Alfred greeted, before offering his hand to Ludwig, "I'm not sure we've met yet, I'm Alfred."

"It's nice to meet you," the young man replied, accepting the firm handshake, "I am Ludwig Bielschmidt."

"Any relation to this hothead albino?" Alfred teased.

"Ludwig is my little brother," Gilbert explained, "He just finished up at the police academy, and will join the force in January."

"Oh, that's fantastic," Alfred said, "I'll look forward to seeing you protecting us out there."

"Mon dieu, what a pity," a familiar voice whined, and Gilbert turned to see Francis Bonnefoy stroll up to Alfred's side, "I was hoping Ludwig would attend law school like he originally planned a few years ago. He would've been top of the class too, I'd wager."

"I would've done it too, if I hadn't seen Gilbert enjoying his work so much," Ludwig justified as he shook Francis's hand, "I want to serve and protect the citizens, and doing so on the streets seems more effective than arguing in a courtroom."

"Well, I do suppose that makes sense," Francis allowed before turning to Alfred, "So, where is your sweetheart, Alfred? I keep hearing she might be the best dressed here, but I can't find her anywhere."

"Lien disappeared a little while ago, I'm not sure where she is," Alfred admitted, "I just hope she gets back in time for me to pop the questi- Oh right, I wasn't supposed to say that."

"Popping the question?" Francis completed, "You plan to ask her to marry you?"

"You better keep your mouth shut, Francis," Alfred warned, "I don't want her knowing about it before I pull her onto the stage during the speeches."

"My lips are sealed, mon cher," Francis assured, "Except to wish you luck, of course."

Alfred glared at Francis a moment longer, before turning and placing his hand on Ludwig's shoulder.

"Ludwig, you should come over here and meet my head of security," Alfred explained, "Vash collaborates a lot with the police, so you'll see him quite often."

As Alfred and Ludwig walked away, Roderich and Lars followed them, leaving Gilbert alone with Francis.

"Hey, Francis, who is Lien?" Gilbert asked, "Is she involved at all with what happened to Mathilda?"

"Like most of the women here, Lien Nguyen is a wealthy socialite heiress," Francis explained, "Her family owns several rice manufacturers in their home country of Vietnam. Alfred has been dating her on and off for a few years now, and they appear to finally be ready to tie the knot. I'm surprised it took this long actually, as this marriage and any resulting children would cut out Mathilda as Alfred's immediate beneficiary."

"This is about who would inherit Alfred's 45% control in JCI, isn't it?" Gilbert asked, "Do you know how Mathilda got her own 45% in the first place?"

"To be honest, I only know bits of information for certain, most of it is suspicion," Francis explained, "As far as I knew, Mathilda only married Arthur because her father made her go through with it. Andrew Jones never expected Alfred to settle down and marry, and chose to give shares worth 10% of the company to the young lawyer with incredible life prospects. That way, if Alfred ever tried anything stupid with his inherited 45%, Arthur could sway Mathilda's 45% vote to control JCI."

"That's a decent call," Gilbert remarked, "Where did it go wrong?"

"That's where I only have the scarcest of hints, but I suspect Mathilda's health was a catalyst," Francis continued, "A few years ago, Mathilda had what was considered a mild flu, and spent a few days sick at home. On one day in particular, she suddenly became deathly ill in the span of an hour, and had to be rushed to the hospital. They never told me what nearly killed her, but I heard rumours that the illness caused her to have a miscarriage."

"Mathilda was pregnant?" Gilbert checked, "She was expecting Arthur's child?"

"Arthur was ready to start a family at that point, but Mathilda's health scare put a dent in their plans," Francis elaboratd, "Although she healed physically, something about the illness made Arthur suspect Mathilda wasn't completely sane. He had her tested for depression and mental trauma, and their relationship deteriorated to the point where she was caught having an affair."

"Is that why Arthur seems so bitter about it all then?" Gilbert asked, "He really seems to want Mathilda put away for life."

"It's not an enviable situation Arthur finds himself in," Francis answered, "He's locked into a position where he has to work with Alfred to manage JCI without Mathilda's 45% of the shares, while feigning happiness when everyone else is succeeding in life."

"Couldn't they just issue more shares to counteract Mathilda's?" Gilbert suggested, "Or adjust their legal documents so that Mathilda loses control?"

"Any JCI share capital transactions require a unanimous vote from all the shareholders, which is impossible without Mathilda's presence," Francis explained, "As for legal inheritance and wills, Arthur and Mathilda are tied into a marriage contract that joins their accounts, makes them each other's immediate beneficiaries, and cannot be amended without both of their approvals."

"What a mess," Gilbert said.

He wanted to continue the conversation, but was distracted by a gorgeous woman approaching them. Her dark blue cocktail dress hugged every curve of her hourglass figure, and contrasted with her light skin. Long golden blonde hair cascaded behind her, mostly straight with a few waves breaking through. Although half her face was hidden by the dark blue mask that matched her dress, her piercing indigo eyes popped through with intense focus.

"Good evening, gentlemen, I hope I am not interrupting," the woman addressed, "I couldn't help but notice that you might be that Sergeant who led the mob busts."

"Yes, madam, that is me," Gilbert confirmed, offering his hand, "Sergeant Gilbert Bielschmidt, at your service."

"Well, Sergeant Bielschmidt, it is a pleasure to meet you in person," the woman said, gently shaking his hand, "I saw the coverage of the busts on the news, you and your colleagues were very impressive."

"Thank you very much, madam."

The crowd applauded gently as the band finished a song, before they started up a waltz.

"Would you care to dance with me, mademoiselle?" Francis asked the woman before Gilbert could.

"As flattered as I may be, Monsieur Bonnefoy, I may have to decline," the woman refused, "You see, I was rather hoping that the good Sergeant here knows how to waltz."

"One of my coworkers taught me some steps the other day," Gilbert admitted, "You're free to test how well I learned my lessons."

"Come along, then."

The woman took his hand and led him away from Francis, towards the middle of the dance floor. Once they found a good spot, Gilbert kept their joined hands together, and wrapped his spare arm around her waist. As he pulled her close, she rested her own arm against his, with her hand draped past his shoulder and behind his neck. Quickly finding the beat in the music, Gilbert began to lead her in the steps, finding it easy to remember what Bella had taught him.

"You must have had a very good teacher," the woman complimented, "You're catching on quickly."

"Thank you, - I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name."

"Oh please, do call me Mattie."

"Mattie, eh? That's an unusual nickname for a girl. Surely it must be short for something?"

"It may be unusual, I'll agree to that. In fact, it's almost as unusual as a police officer stealing the glory for someone else's work."

Gilbert paused in thought as he spun her, choosing his next words carefully.

"I'm not sure I follow you there, Mattie."

"To be fair, you wouldn't have been the only one stealing the glory. Lieutenant Adnan would've had his share if he wasn't shot dead the next morning."

"I'm not sure what you heard, but there is no truth to those rumours," Gilbert stated as per the confidential nature of the ongoing investigation, "Lieutenant Adnan and Sergeants Karpusi and Jelen died in the crash, they were not shot."

"Not only can I tell you for certain they were shot, it was a woman responsible for it all," Mattie countered, "She shot all three of those officers and ran off with the prisoner and the garbage truck driver. I can even tell you who she is."

"Oh really?" Gilbert said, "Indulge me, then, and tell me who you think this woman is."

"She is the same one who sent you that USB drive to bust the mobs."

Gilbert froze them in their spot on the dance floor.

"How do you know about that, Mattie?"

Mattie smirked as she dragged her fingers against the back of his neck.

"You look like a smart boy, I'll let you figure that one out for yourself."

The woman gripped the back of his neck and pulled his head forward, and Gilbert was surprised to find her lips planted against his. The moment of contact seemed to slow time down momentarily, and he was still dazed for moments after it ended. Once time caught up to him, he blinked a few times before looking around in a panic.

The woman had disappeared, leaving him alone in the middle of the dance floor.

As Gilbert looked through the crowds, he considered what Mattie had to say. The USB had been kept an absolute secret by everyone involved, he wasn't even allowed to tell Kiku and Bella about how Mathilda gave them the location of the mobs. If Mattie was telling the truth, then Mathilda was the one who broke Toris free.

Come to think of it, she never did say what Mattie is short for.

Gilbert spotted some familiar faces by the stage, and rushed over to where Ludwig and Lars were talking to Vash and a young woman.

"What happened, Gilbert?" Lars teased, "Did that woman just pull a kiss and run on you?"

"Shut up, Lars, this is serious," Gilbert brushed off in his taste to get to the main topic, "Vash, do you know if Arthur or Alfred would've told any of their friends about the USB drive?"

"The only other person on the JCI end who was told about that is Lilli," Vash claimed, nodding at the young woman beside him, "She is my sister, and Alfred's secretary."

"I haven't told anyone about it, Alfred insisted it be kept quiet," Lilli added on, "Why do you ask?"

"If that's the case, then that woman I was just dancing with might have been Mathilda," Gilbert declared, "She knew about the USB drive, and she also claimed that it was sent by the same person who shot Sadiq, Heracles and Tomas dead while breaking Toris free."

"How do you know it's her?" Lars asked, "Where is she now?"

"She was wearing a dark blue dress with a mask, and had long straight golden blonde hair," Gilbert described, "She said to call her Mattie."

Vash and Lilli suddenly looked at him in shock.

"Mattie?" Vash repeated, "Her name was Mattie?"

"Why does that matter?" Ludwig asked.

"That was Alfred's nickname for Mathilda." Lilli answered.

"You three boys fan out and look for her," Vash instructed, "Lilli and I will go to the stage, we'll tell Roderich and Alfred what is going on."

"I'll take this side of the room," Lars added on, nodding his head to the side, "Gilbert, you take the middle, and Ludwig can take the far side."

The group split up in search of the woman. Gilbert went to look through the crowds, but couldn't see Mattie again anywhere. He was distracted by a tap at a microphone, and joined the crowd in watching the stage as Arthur prepared to make a speech. Vash and Lilli were already on the stage, speaking to Alfred and Roderich at the side.

"Ladies and gentlemen, your attention, please," Arthur began, cheeks visibly blushed from the champagne he had helped himself to through the evening.

Gilbert kept sliding his way through the crowd, attempting to watch Arthur on the stage while keeping his eyes open for the woman.

"Alfred will be next up here to make a speech, but I wanted the chance to make sure you are thanked for coming before he gets carried away with himself."

The crowd giggled, although Gilbert didn't understand whatever Arthur was joking about with the socialites.

"We are happy to see that so many of you were able to join us for our celebration of the holidays. It has truly been a remarkable year, and we're pleased to see so many of you ending the year in high spirits. In particular, I'd like to extend recognition to our police department, of which we have a few members in attendance tonight, for their incredible work ensuring our safety and well-being with their major accomplishments the last few months."

The crowd gave an applause at the statement, and Gilbert felt slightly reluctant to accept it. While there had been accomplishments, some terrible costs had to be paid in order to reach them. His fellow officers had been killed, and they resorted to using a criminal's tactics to shut down the mobs. And yet, these socialites seemed to only care that the ends were met, no matter the means.

Vash approached Arthur and tried to whisper to him, but Arthur just waved him away before speaking again.

"It seems they are planning to cut me off here soon, so I'll wrap this up and pass it off to Alfred. But first, on behalf of JCI, Kirkland and Company, and all our friends and family, allow me to wish you all a very merry Christmas and - "

Gilbert looked back at the stage when he realized that Arthur had stopped talking mid-toast, and noted that the man had frozen in his place. The colour had disappeared from his cheeks, and his wide eyes were fixed straight ahead of him, as if he had gone into a sobering shock. Gilbert followed his gaze to the staircase at the other end of the room, where the woman in the blue dress stood alone halfway up. Her hands were dropping from the sides of her face, as if she had just taken off her mask and put it back on.

"Hello, Arthur," Mattie greeted for all to hear, "Look who came home for Christmas."

"Mathilda," Arthur muttered loud enough for the microphone to pick up, dropping his glass of champagne and letting it smash on the ground. Vash quickly came back to the front of the stage at Arthur's left, and pointed his gun at Mathilda.

"Oh Vash, put that away," Mathilda whined, waving her right hand as if to brush away the gun as she put her left hand behind her back, "I only want to thank my husband and my brother for throwing such a lovely party. Unfortunately, I will not be sticking around for the gift exchange."

Gilbert pushed through the crowd towards the stairs, noting that Ludwig was doing the same to his right. He looked to his left, and noticed that Lars was the furthest away from Mathilda.

"We cannot allow you to leave, Mrs. Jones-Kirkland," Roderich stated, approaching the front of the stage at Arthur's right, "We have an outstanding warrant for your arrest."

Gilbert pushed past the last couple people, and reached the bottom stair at the same time as Ludwig. They both looked up to see Mathilda smirking at them, and they started to climb as she looked back at the stage.

"Sorry, Commissioner, but you will not be arresting me any time soon," Mathilda declined, bringing her hand out from behind her back and throwing something to the ground.

Gilbert paused and went to cover his eyes as a sudden cloud of smoke appeared in front of him. He waited for the heat of a fire or the sound of an explosion, but felt nothing to indicate it was an explosive. He opened his eyes again to confirm it was the case, and grabbed his brother's arm.

"It was a smoke bomb, Luddy," Gilbert shouted, "Let's go!"

The boys continued up the staircase, and Gilbert held his breath as they went through the cloud of smoke. Once they were past and his vision cleared, Gilbert tried to figure out which way Mathilda had gone, only for Ludwig to spot her first.

"To the left, Gilbert!"

The boys reached the top of the staircase, ran through the entrance, and turned to the left, spotting the woman booking it down the hallway. They followed her as she turned right into the office area and ran into one of the rooms, shutting the door behind her. Ludwig got to the door first, and shook the handle.

"She locked the door, but the hinges are very weak," Ludwig reported.

"Come on, let's break it down," Gilbert demanded, pulling his brother a few feet away, "On my count then. One, two, three!"

The brothers charged at the door and hit it together, blasting through both the lock and the hinges and barreling into the office. The room was empty save for the furniture, and the sliding door to the balcony was wide open. Gilbert went straight outside to look, and heard a vehicle starting up as he reached the balcony and look down into the side alley.

Mathilda had climbed down the fire escape, and was getting into the black truck that was waiting for her. Within moments of her door shutting, the truck pulled away, turned right onto the street, and disappeared into the night.

"She had someone waiting?" Ludwig asked from beside him.

"Yep, and they didn't even have a license plate to run, damn it."

Gilbert went back into the room, and Ludwig quickly followed. They had almost reached the broken door when they heard a loud explosion.

"That came from the party!" Ludwig realized.

The boys booked it back into the hallways, and ran as fast as they could back to the hall where everyone had started screaming at something. They turned the corner and froze at the top of the stairs, seeing what had happened.

The stage had been covered in debris, and smoke hovered in the air above, as if the roof above the stage had suddenly exploded. Nobody on the stage seemed to have been hurt, and they were all brushing dirt off themselves. Alfred was screeching at Vash to do something, and Vash pointed his gun towards something at the roof. The smoke cleared a little more, and Gilbert could see what Alfred was freaking out about.

Halfway between the stage and the roof was a hanged woman, with a rope tied as a noose around her neck.

Gilbert and Ludwig ran down the stairs, watching as Vash aimed the gun and fired it. The loud bang caused more screams, but the bullet hit its mark and broke the rope. The woman's body fell the rest of the way down, and Alfred rushed over to catch it.

"Everybody, move!" Ludwig shouted at the people standing in the way of the brothers, "Police coming through!"

The crowd quickly split, allowing Gilbert and Ludwig to reach the front of the stage and join the others. Alfred had collapsed to his knees while hugging the woman, while Lars attempted to check her over. Roderich, Lilli and Vash all watched for the verdict, while Arthur could only sit there in absolute shock.

"What happened here?" Gilbert asked, "Is she alright?"

"The explosion blew a hole in the roof," Lilli told them, "Her body fell through from the attic."

"She did not survive," Lars reported, dropping her wrist so that Alfred could pull her closer to him to weep, "There's no pulse, and she's already gone cold."

"Who was she?" Gilbert inquired.

"Lien Nguyen," Roderich answered, "Alfred's girlfriend and potential fiancée."

Alfred pulled himself away from her, his face soaked in tears, and what's when Ludwig asked it.

"If she was hanged by the neck until dead, then why all the blood?"

That's when Gilbert saw it too. Lien's lime green ballgown was covered in red marks, as if she had been slashed with a knife all over her body. There was a piece of paper attached to her front that Lars removed, only to reveal deep wounds through her torso.

"Oh my god," Alfred gasped, "They tore her open before hanging her."

"It's likely she had help, but this note is signed by Mathilda," Lars reported, "She wishes Alfred a miserable holiday, and the worst of luck catching her."

"Where is Mathilda?" Roderich asked, "Why didn't you boys catch her?"

"She got too far away, we couldn't keep up to her," Gilbert explained, "She used the fire escape from one of the office balconies, and had a truck waiting for her in the alley."

"Ivan and Antonio must have helped, then," Vash assumed, "They probably helped her set up Lien's fall, using a timer or remote detonator on a small bomb."

Alfred pulled Lien's body close to his again and continued weeping. Unable to watch anymore, Gilbert looked away, and saw Arthur still kneeling in his spot in complete shock. Francis climbed onto the stage and put his hand on Arthur's shoulder.

"My condolences, mes amis," the Frenchman assuaged, "I could never have imagined that Mathilda would go to such lengths."

"She took this too far," Arthur stuttered, "My wife's a bloody murderess."

* * *

 ** _Auhor's Notes_**

 ** _Plenty happening in this chapter, oh boy! I originally thought of splitting it where Mathilda interrupts Arthur's speech, but decided that was getting too late in the chapter._**

 ** _We finally have Ludwig in person, he'll be getting very involved in a little while._**

 ** _Lien Nguyen is Vietnam. As mentioned, Alfred was planning to propose to her at the party, but Mathilda intervened and got the potential sister-in-law out of the way._**

 ** _Arthur's in shock because this is the first time he's actually seen his wife since she ran off with Ivan and Antonio two and a half years ago._**

 ** _Finally, I did have a guest review about Chapter 13, asking how the Italians can trust Elizaveta and Feliks so easily. Perhaps I didn't make it too clear, but remember that the four of them have lost their entire support networks, and are living like bums with no prospects. Obviously their allegiances have led to conflict in the past, but it is to their benefit to put aside those differences and work together for the time being._**


	15. Chapter 15

Yao climbed up the long set of stairs, ready to wind down after a surprisingly busy day in the cafe. He had been on his feet and helping Carlos run the kitchen since the noon hour rush, and they had finally closed up for the night a little while ago. As he reached the top of the stairs, he smiled fondly as he followed the smell of the Russian and Ukranian dishes towards the apartment he shared with the girls.

He walked through the open door to the apartment and stopped at the kitchen. Natalya was busy pulling a dish out of the oven, while something else was simmering on the stove. Other dishes were already placed across the counter.

"That smells fantastic, Natalya," Yao complimented as he opened the fridge and grabbed a beer, "Is a holiday feast like this common in Russia?"

"Some of these are Ukrainian and Belarussian, not necessarily Russian," Natalya answered as she placed another hot dish on the stove and shut the oven, "Our countries did not celebrate Christmas for a few decades, so New Years is when we enjoyed ourselves instead."

"That makes complete sense," Yao said as he nonchalantly slipped his hand towards one of the eggplant rolls already displayed on the open counter, only for Natalya to slap his hand away with the spatula.

"Screw off, we're waiting for Katya and Carlos," Natalya scolded, "While you're waiting, check your email. You guys left it open earlier, and I saw a message arrive from Yong Soo."

Yao chuckled as he circled round the counter into the living area, and sat down in the computer chair. He leaned back for a moment, allowing his legs to finally get a break, before leaning forward and looking at the screen. His email account was open to its inbox, and an unread message was sitting there from Im Yong Soo. Yao took a sip of his beer as he clicked the message open to read it.

 _Hey Yao-Yao,_

 _Happy New Year!_

 _I know you're yet to celebrate, but it's already past midnight in Seoul, so it's already a new year here. The future isn't much different yet, unfortunately._

 _Wai Hou returned to Macau, he's planning to get himself set up out there. Xiao Mei is deciding whether she wants to return to Taiwan long-term or stay with me here in Korea._

 _How are you and the girls doing? Is that greasy-spoon cafe treating you well? When are you and Katya planning to tie the knot?_

 _Write to me soon!_

 _Im Yong Soo_

 _PS: Do you have a new phone number yet? I want to call you about something when we have the chance._

Yao smiled fondly at the message. When the Kohler and Vargas mobs were busted during that one October night, the Dragon Triad members feared they would be next, so they immediately shut down the Golden Dragon and ran for the airport. Im Yong Soo, Xiao Mei and Wai Hou easily got on a flight to Korea, but Natalya and Katerina had restrictions on their records that prohibited them from leaving the country. Instead of heading out to China alone, Yao chose to stay behind with his future wife and sister-in-law.

Yao hit the reply button, and started composing the message.

 _Hello Yong Soo,_

 _Happy New Year to you as well!_

 _We're doing quite well at the cafe. I've convinced Carlos to offer some healthier items on his menu over the last month, so it's not quite as greasy as it once was. It truly was a stroke of luck for all four of us that we found this cafe. It has still been difficult, as having a kitchen hand and two waitresses has improved things, but Carlos is still very stressed over keeping everything afloat. It's only the four of us working here, and the other two apartments are still empty._

 _Yes, Katya and I are still planning to marry at some point. We've decided that we want to save up some money first towards a suit for myself, a lovely dress for her, and a nice honeymoon somewhere. With the way things are going, though, this might be a long way off. Hopefully we can arrange for you to return and visit us when it finally does happen._

 _My phone has been replaced, the new number is 347-298-8473. PLEASE remember the time difference when and if you call, this is the only night of the year where I might approve a late-night call._

 _Yao_

After clicking to send the message, Yao took a swig of his beer, and leaned back in the chair again. He rubbed his hand against his leg gently, grimacing as he felt the grease on his pants. He groaned as he stood back up, and walked over to the bedroom he shared with Katerina. He was happy to see that at least their room was somewhat organized, and he shut the door behind himself. He placed his beer on the dresser, before opening the drawers and pulling out a clean t-shirt and jeans. He removed his greasy work clothes, and tossed them into the laundry bin, aiming a little higher than normal, but not enough to knock the framed Golden Dragon emblem hanging on the wall. As he continued changing, he kept glancing at the emblem, and thinking about what had happened over the last two months.

When the others had flown out to Asia, Yao and the girls first stayed in a small apartment that Yong Soo had kept secure as a hideaway in case anyone ever had to lie low for a while. It was only a temporary solution however, so the three of them had to find a new job and apartment as quickly as possible. It only took a week for Natalya to strike a patch of luck in her job search, walking into this cafe within moments of Carlos having his last employee walk out on him.

The Cuban was the sole proprietor of the business that owned the building. The main floor was the cafe, which was in dire need of an improved menu, dedicated staff, and better cash flows. The upper two floors each had a 1-bedroom suite and a 2-bedroom suite, for which Carlos occupied one apartment and all the others needed tenants. Natalya quickly arranged for all three of them to work for Carlos, with Yao in the kitchen and the girls as waitresses. They were also easily able to negotiate tenancy of one of the 2-bedroom suites, with the rental fee being deducted from their pay for working in the restaurant.

Having finished changing, Yao grabbed his beer and left the room, entering the living room again just as Katerina strolled in. She approached him and quickly pecked him on the lips, before entering their bedroom to also change out of her work clothes. Yao sat down on one of the barstools at the counter, and watched as Natalya brought the last of the dishes over.

"Thanks for the help setting up here, Yao," Natalya remarked with heavy sarcasm.

"Not a problem, Natalya," Yao quipped back with a smirk, "Glad to help the sweet flower that is my future sister-in-law."

Natalya was facing away from him to pull out some plates, but that did not stop her from flipping the bird over her shoulder in his direction. Yao chuckled before sipping at his beer again. The door opened behind him, and Yao turned to see Katerina emerge from the bedroom in a nice white blouse and flowy red skirt that went to her knees.

"You look lovely, Katya," Yao complimented as she came to his side.

"Thank you, Yao-yao," Katerina said before giving him another quick kiss. As the kiss ended, they saw the last member of their party stroll into the room.

"Damn, this spread is amazing," Carlos commented as he saw the food on the counter before turning to Natalya and raising his case of beer, "In the fridge?"

"Yes, please, and pull out the wine while you're at it," Natalya said as she put the plates on the counter, "It's a Pinot Grigio, Katya."

"That sounds lovely, Nat, I'll have some too," Katerina replied as she sat on the stool next to Yao's.

Yao and Katerina watched as Carlos pulled the wine and a beer from the fridge while Natalya pulled out some wine glasses and a corkscrew. As they joined at the counter, Carlos passed the wine to Natalya before cracking open his beer and taking a gulp.

"Ah, that hits the spot," Carlos said after finishing his drink, placing the bottle on the counter, "And this food looks like it will too. Thanks for making this, girls."

"You're welcome," the girls muttered at the same time, just as Natalya removed the cork from the wine bottle.

"Before we dig in here, I do have a few things to say on this occasion," Carlos revealed.

"You planned a pre-dinner speech?" Yao remarked as Natalya passed Katerina a glass of wine.

"Shush it, I want to be serious here for a second," Carlos dismissed before continuing, "I really want to thank you all for the tremendous work you've done over the last few months. You really pulled me and the restaurant out of a very deep hole, and I greatly appreciate all your help."

"Well, thank you for helping us in return," Yao replied, "We'd have been screwed ourselves if Natalya hadn't found this place."

"Seriously, you three are amazing, and I could've never asked for better staff," Carlos said, "That's why it's hard for me to reveal some possibly bad news."

"Bad news?" Katerina asked, "What's going on?"

"As much as you guys have helped, the business is running out of money," Carlos explained, "I visited the bank the other day to ask for more financing, and they want an audit engagement by a chartered accountant on the year-end financials."

"That's definitely a lot more work," Katerina remarked, "Not to mention more expensive."

"Raj Kasem has been the business's CA for a while, he can definitely do it," Carlos said, "The problem is the potential result. My accounting management is poor as piss, and the payables are getting out of control. It's very possible that Raj would conclude on a threat to going concern."

"Going concern?" Natalya repeated in confusion.

"When CAs perform audits, they're supposed to do it under the assumption that the business will remain operational for the foreseeable future," Katerina elaborated, "If there are reasons to believe this is not the case, the auditors have to disclose it."

"The moment banks and other investors see a going concern issue, they do not stick around," Carlos said, "If this audit goes bad, my business might even lose our existing financing and go bankrupt."

"Sorry to hear that," Yao said, "Any way to keep that from happening?"

"The best way at this point is to find another investor before the audit is complete," Carlos continued, "If someone buys the business from me and quickly invests some cash, the subsequent events would help appease the auditors and bank. And although it may take me out of the picture entirely, that new investor may choose to keep the business running as it is. If so, I believe you three will be able to keep your jobs and apartment."

Carlos paused to take another gulp of his beer, and neither Yao or the girls had anything to say. Finishing his drink, Carlos shook his head as he placed his beer on the counter.

"I'm sorry I had to ruin the mood with the bad news, but at least it's in the open now," Carlos said, "I suggest we leave worrying about the future until tomorrow, and enjoy ourselves now. It's New Years Eve, and this food is going cold!"

They chuckled as Carlos raised his beer in the air.

"To a happy new year!"

"To a happy new year!" Yao and the girls replied, raising their own drinks to clink with Carlos before taking sips. Once the toast was complete, Natalya started handing out plates while Yao's cellphone started ringing by the computer.

"I better go answer that," Yao groaned as he stood from his stool. Hearing the others serving the food behind him, Yao walked back over to the computer and grabbed his phone, immediately noting the caller ID.

The number was from somewhere in Korea.

Yao accepted the call, and brought the phone to his ear before answering.

"Hello?"

"Is that you, Yao-yao?"

"It sure is, Yong Soo, good to hear your voice again."

"You as well, happy new year!"

"Happy new year to you too!" Yao replied, turning back to see that the others were clearly listening in on his end of the conversation, "What time is it out there now, about lunchtime? You didn't get yourself hungover, did you?"

"Ah yes, Mei is making us a light lunch right now. Seoul has become quite the party town while I've been away, she's tempted to stick around for that."

"You said you wanted to talk to me over the phone about something?"

"Ah yes, I have terrific news to send you into the new year! The transfer came through the banks, the Triad money is clean! All I need is a bank account number on your end, and I can send some of it to you and the girls!"

"That's wonderful, Yong Soo! Are you sure you want to do that, though? What if it flagged by our bank as being suspicious?"

"It won't, I promise! I'll go into my bank to arrange it, and make it a clean transaction from start to end. They'll be flagging the five million anyways, but I'll make it absolutely clear that it is a simply a gift from a foreign friend."

"Well, I suppose that - wait, how much?"

"Five million dollars."

"You mean in Korean Won, don't you?"

"Of course not, five million Won won't get you anything out there! Nope, I'm sending five million dollars."

Yao's face dropped in shock before he could reply.

"Yong Soo, you are out of your fucking mind!"

"Don't be silly, Yao-Yao. You can get out of that greasy spoon cafe, give Katya a lovely wedding and honeymoon, and even buy a house!"

Yao tried to search for his words as he sat back down at the counter

"I don't know what to say, Yong Soo!"

"You don't have to say anything! Well, actually you do, I need a bank account number."

Yao finally managed to snap out of his stupor.

"Okay, talk to Katerina, she's better with the numbers."

Yao handed the phone to Katya, grabbed his beer from the counter, and chugged a bit back to help relieve the shock. Once he had collected himself, he realized that Natalya and Carlos were staring at him.

"Well?" Natalya asked.

"Five million," Yao blankly said.

"Five million dollars?" Carlos asked.

"Holy fuck," Natalya muttered, before they also heard Katya screech into the phone.

"Oh my fucking god! Im Yong Soo, you are being way too generous!"

The three of them continued watching Katya talk to Yong Soo on the phone for a moment. When she turned away to get the banking information from the computer, Yao turned back to the counter.

"So, you lucky folks get to start the year five million dollars richer," Carlos pointed out, "What will you do with the money?"

"They'll probably pay for their wedding and find a small house somewhere," Natalya answered, "I'll probably go off on my own again, maybe return to school."

As Natalya and Carlos continued chattering, Yao looked back at Katerina in thought. His fiancé has been a waitress for several years now, with no chance to put her accounting skills to good practice. She had always wanted to run her own business, and the type of business she understood best was running a restaurant.

And Carlos would likely sell off his business to the first investor who came along.

"Hey Carlos, what would be the selling price on the business right now?"

"Well, the business does own the building and equipment, so that's worth a decent amount," Carlos explained, "There's still the mortgage and loans as well though, so net worth is probably about $250,000. Why do you ask?"

"I ask because Katerina has always wanted to run her own business," Yao said, turning back to see that Katerina had ended the call with Yong Soo and was now listening, "And given the pending bank transfer from Korea, we can afford to save this cafe from bankruptcy."

"Are you suggesting we buy the cafe and apartments?" Natalya put together.

"You can still do whatever you want with your share of the five million, Nat," Yao informed, "I'm suggesting that Katya and I could buy out Carlos's shares and invest in the business. I will control the kitchen and improve the food, while Katya can handle the books and resolve the debt concerns. That is, if she wants to go through with it."

"Are you serious, Yao?" Katerina asked, "I know I'd love to, but do you really want to work in a kitchen as your career?"

"I've already been on this track for a while, and this gives me the chance to run my own kitchen," Yao explained, "Plus, as long as the love of my life is helping run the restaurant, I could not be happier."

"Oh Yao, you're the best!" Katerina squealed as she enveloped him in a tight hug and started kissing him all over his cheeks. Once the hug was loosened, Yao turned to Carlos.

"So, do we have a tentative deal here?" he asked, "We can't really buy the business if the current owner won't sell it."

"I want to see that money hit your bank first, before we start negotiating price," Carlos replied, "Once it does go through, I'll tell Raj we have a sale to figure out."

* * *

 ** _Author's Notes_**

 ** _Lots of this technical accounting stuff is fresh from the auditing courses I have taken._** ** _In this story, I head-cannon Katerina as having studied for her accounting degree and designation like myself, but having to work a crappy job to make ends meet in the meantime. She would understand how to manage the front end and back office of a restaurant, while Yao could run the kitchen. Raj Kasem is meant to be India, he's a CA._**

 ** _I've been seeing your lovely reviews so far, and have been getting a bit of sadistic pleasure in seeing how much you guys don't seem to like Mathilda. Let's just say we're still only at the tip of the iceberg….._**


	16. Chapter 16

Elizaveta marched down the street, heading towards the small bookstore where she had spotted a hiring sign the other day. She had convinced Feliks and the twins to let her use some cash to get all cleaned up for job hunting, despite it possibly costing them a meal. The bare-boned resume she had put together wasn't likely to do her much good, since her only contacts in this country were all involved in Mikkel Kohler's gang.

She was born in Hungary and crossed the pond a few years ago, looking to succeed in the land of the free. However, when she got here and discovered there were hardly any fellow Hungarians to help her out, she was forced to live on the street and beg for change without knowing any English. She struggled intensely until Mikkel walked by her one night and dropped some change in her beret. When she thanked him in Hungarian, he stopped in his tracks and came back to her. He had her point out her flag on a webpage on his smartphone, and then used a translate app to offer her food and shelter. Elizaveta accepted, and Mikkel gave her a home, as well as English lessons, in exchange for her working for him.

Elizaveta turned the corner on the street, and was only a few doors away from the shop. As she reached the front window, she stopped in her tracks when she saw the manager pulling the sign from the window. She looked down to the ground as she continued walking solemnly past the door, realizing she had missed out on another opportunity to pull the quartet out of the gutter.

She and the boys had been living out of the van for a few months now, trying to find any extra cash they could get their hands on. They found ways to get through the coldest winter nights, with just enough food and supplies to survive. They were proud of making it to the end of February this way, but they knew that getting one of them into a regular job could help them get an apartment to live in instead of the cold van.

Oddly enough, despite being a tight fit in the van, it was strangely comfortable at night.

Feliks and Elizaveta had already been sleeping in the driver and passenger seats since October, so Lovino and Feliciano had to sleep on the floor in the back of the van. After a few nights, Feliciano complained about the floor being too hard, so he took the passenger seat while Elizaveta shared the floor with Lovino. The two of them kept from bumping each other for the first little while, and having their sleeping bags done up tight helped as well. However, one night in December, when the sleeping bags and van could not keep out the winter's strongest freeze, Lovino unzipped both their sleeping bags, laid them out on top of the two of them like blankets, and cuddled with Elizaveta to share body warmth. This proved to be quite cozy, and the pair continued to do this for every night after, despite the chuckles and teasing from Feliks and Feliciano.

Elizaveta reached the end of the block, looked across the street, and saw a potential new lead. The Phoenix Cafe had two new signs in the window that she hadn't seen before. Not only did they have new management running the place, but they were also hiring.

Where one door closes, another opens.

When the light turned green, Elizaveta crossed to the other side of the street, and went over to the diner. It was in a decent area of town, and even had a couple parking spots out front. She gazed up at the upper floors of the building, wondering if there might also be apartments for rent at an affordable price.

Elizaveta walked through the entrance into the cafe, seeing two blonde waitresses walking around between tables. The closest waitress was a curvier woman with ample bosom and short hair, she was approaching the closest occupied table with an urn of coffee.

"Hello, please take a seat wherever you like," the busty waitress greeted Elizaveta, "I'll be right with you!"

As the waitress spoke to the older couple at the table, Elizaveta sat down on a barstool at the counter, a couple seats down from the till. She glanced at the second waitress, who was pulling plates of food across through the window from the kitchen while speaking to whoever was on the other side. She was a bit skinnier than the other waitress, and her long straight blonde hair was tied up behind her.

The first waitress whipped around the counter past the till, and approached Elizaveta.

"Thanks for waiting, sweetie," she said, "Would you like some coffee?"

"I was actually hoping to speak to a manager," Elizaveta explained, noting the name tag on the waitress's blouse, "I saw the sign in the window that you are hiring."

"That would be me," Katerina answered, "I'm looking for a couple more waitresses and kitchen hands. Do you have a resume?

Elizaveta pulled out her resume, and handed it to the manager who then closely read it over.

"Hm, you really don't have much here, Elizaveta," Katerina criticized, "What kind of work experience do you have?

"Well, I came over from Hungary a couple years ago, and was working for a friend who is out of the picture now," Elizaveta elaborated as vaguely as possible, hoping to cover the lack of details, "I can say that I am a very fast learner, and very dedicated to what I do."

"Sorry, sweetie, but your information here doesn't really give me enough to work with," the manager declined, handing back the resume, "I'm sure you would be good, but I'd be much more assured by a more specific resume and references."

"Hang on a second, Katya, I want to speak to her for a moment."

Elizaveta turned to see the second waitress approaching Katerina. As she came closer, Elizaveta noticed that she looked a lot like the manager.

She also seemed awfully familiar for some reason.

"Do you know her, Natalya?" the manager asked.

"I think I do, actually," the waitress replied, taking the resume from the manager' hand and glancing at it momentarily, "Tell me, Elizaveta, have you ever worked for Mikkel Kohler?"

"How do you know that?" Elizaveta stuttered in surprise and alarm, prepared to jump off her barstool and run for her life. The last thing she needed was having potential employers calling the cops on her.

"Relax, we have no reason to call the cops on you," Katerina assured, "We already have enough trouble with them on our own accounts."

"So then, how do you know who I am?" Elizaveta asked warily, glancing between the two women.

"Katerina wasn't at that meeting in October, but I was," Natalya explained, "The meeting Madeline hosted to have the Vargas and Kohler mobs negotiate some terms of cooperation."

At the description of the meeting, the memory came back to Elizaveta's mind. She remembered looking around at the meeting from her seat beside Ivan, and seeing a blonde woman sitting with the Triad.

"You worked for Im Yong Soo," Elizaveta realized, "You're one of the Dragons!"

"We were Dragons, until the Triad was dissolved," Katerina corrected.

"What happened to you guys?" Elizaveta asked, "Where is Im Yong Soo?"

"Yong Soo returned to Asia as soon as we heard about the Kohler and Vargas bases getting busted," Katerina explained, "We feared the worst when it happened, and the others chose to run."

"Due to extenuating family circumstances, Katerina and I can't leave the country," Nataya continued, "We stayed behind, and found work and shelter here. Yao also stayed behind to be with Katerina, he's in the kitchen behind us right now."

"We were trying to find you guys after the busts," Elizaveta said, "We were hoping to ask Yong Soo for refuge."

"How did you escape?" Natalya asked.

"Mikkel had sent Feliks on a mission just a while before, and I tagged along," Elizaveta disclosed, "When we returned to the base later, the police already had it surrounded."

"And what have you been doing since then?" Katerina asked, "It can't be that great if you're hunting for jobs with a skeletal resume."

"Feliks and I have been living out of our van, getting food and supplies with whatever cash we can get our hands on," Elizaveta revealed, "Lovino and Feliciano Vargas are with us, we crossed paths with them back in November."

"You have the Vargas twins with you?" Natalya checked, "The four of you have been living in a van all this time?"

"Yeah, it's been tough," Elizaveta confirmed, "That's why I'm looking for a job, to help us get towards at least an apartment to share."

"I think I can top that arrangement," Katerina countered, "What would you say to employment and shelter for all four of you?"

"I'd ask how you can pull that off." Elizaveta replied.

"Yao and I bought this business with some of the Dragon Triad money," Katerina explained, "We own both the cafe and the apartments upstairs, and we need both employees and tenants. If you four agree to work for us, we could deduct rent from your pay."

"Oh my god, that would be amazing!" Elizaveta accepted eagerly, "Thank you so much!"

"Not a problem, sweetie," Elizaveta said, before grabbing the coffee pot, "Now, I have customers waiting for me. Natalya, can you have the boys whip up a proper meal for Elizaveta?"

"Sure thing, Katya," Natalya said, before handing Elizaveta a menu, "You want something to drink?"

"I've love some coffee, please," Elizaveta said, grabbing her phone from her pocket as Natalya went to get her drink. She quickly dialled Feliks's new number, and listened to it ring before it was picked up.

"Well, how did it go at the bookstore?" Feliks asked upon answering.

"The bookstore was a bust, but I found something better," Elizaveta replied, "You boys need to get over to the Phoenix Cafe, the remaining members of the Dragon Triad have agreed to help us!"


	17. Chapter 17

Feliks was waiting at the front of the line as Carrie processed a return for the customer before him. He didn't mind having to wait for the cashier, as he was thankful he could afford to shop at his favourite clothing store again.

Everything had gone well for them after Elizaveta found Natalya, Katerina and Yao at the cafe. Feliks and the twins started helping Yao out as kitchen hands, and the Italians were already convincing Yao to allow traditional pizzas and pastas on the updated menu. Elizaveta quickly caught on as a waitress, allowing Katerina and Natalya to have days off again. With the apartment rentals coming out of their pay, and having all seven of them cooking meals together, Feliks was able to go shopping for some new clothes again.

Of course, that wasn't all Feliks was getting at the mall today. Natalya wanted him to look at a few things for when they started sharing an apartment.

When the Dragon Triad took them in, Feliks and Elizaveta moved into the last 1-bedroom apartment, while Lovino and Feliciano took the 2-bedroom apartment. Elizaveta has kept the bedroom to herself, so Feliks has been sleeping in their den, planning to take the other 1-bedroom apartment when Carlos moved out at the end of March. However, the other week, Natalya decided that she wanted to be separated from the common-law couple. After some discussion, it was decided that Katerina and Yao would take Carlos's apartment when he returned to Cuba, and Feliks would share the other 2-bedroom apartment with Natalya. Elizaveta would have her own apartment, and the twins would continue sharing their 2-bedroom unit.

Feliks chuckled in thought. It wasn't like both twins were really sleeping in that apartment. He may think that he hadn't been discovered yet, but Feliks knew Lovino was sneaking into Elizaveta's room almost every night.

Some printing alerted Feliks from his thoughts, and he saw that Carrie had finished processing the transaction for the other customer. Just as she was having the customer sign the return slip, another cashier came up to the counter and waved him over to the second till.

"You go ahead," Feliks told the person behind him in line, not bothering to turn and look at them, "I'll wait for the girl finishing up there."

"Okay, thank you."

Feliks froze in his place, recognizing that voice immediately. He tried his best not to stare as the person moved past him towards the other cashier, but Feliks immediately recognized that head of shoulder-length brown hair from behind.

"Feliks, how good to see you again!"

Feliks snapped out of his shock to see that Carrie was waiting for him at the counter, her previous customer already walking away.

"Hi Carrie, good to see you too," Feliks replied as he walked up to her till, "How are things going for you?"

"They're going alright, I'm still working here," she answered while ringing his shirts through, "How about you? What made you disappear for 5 months?"

"Some bad things came up, it's complicated," Feliks answered, "I've pulled everything back in control now, though, so it's good again."

"Well, I'm happy to hear that," Carrie said before looking at her till, "$38.45 is the total, honey."

Feliks pulled out from cash, and put it on the counter for Carrie. As she put the money in the till, Feliks tried to look at the man standing at the other till, but a display between them blocked the view.

"$1.55 is your change, honey, receipt's in the bag," Carrie said, offering him his change, "Come back again soon, okay?"

"Sure thing, Carrie," Feliks said as he took his change and bag, "Have a good day."

Feliks turned away and left the counter, unable to walk past the other till as Feliks was at the one closer to the door. He strolled out the door as casually as he could, not wanting anyone to notice that he was stressed out about anything. Once he was back in the mall, he went right over to the bench in the middle of the walkway, and pretended to fidget with his bag and wallet while waiting for the other man to leave the store.

Sure enough, within a few moments, the man walked out of the store and made eye contact with Feliks. He immediately walked over with a guilty look on his face, knowing from Feliks's glare that he had been recognized.

"Before you ask, I knew it was you," Toris said right off the bat, "I wasn't sure if you would want to see me."

"You should be in jail, Toris," Feliks snarled, "How the fuck are you walking around free?"

"I have some friends who broke me out," Toris explained, "They intercepted the van that was taking me to prison."

"So you were the prisoner that escaped when those cops were killed?" Feliks accused, "Do these friends of yours include Ivan?"

"Yes, he was there to break me out," Toris confirmed, "How did you figure that one out?"

"When you were arrested, Mikkel accused Ivan of turning you in," Feliks reported, "They had a fight, and he left. I was told to follow him, and Elizaveta joined me. When we tried to return to the base, the police were already there."

"I'm sorry to hear about that," Toris said, "I was also sorry to see what happened to the others."

"Quit the bullshit and come clean to me," Feliks charged, "Did you help Ivan betray Mikkel?"

"Ivan has a complicated past, and Mikkel was ready to stab him in the back over it," Toris justified, "I was given the choice of whose side I wanted to support, and Ivan's friend made an offer I couldn't refuse."

"And you now work for them instead?" Feliks pried, "Who is this influential friend of Ivan's?"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that, it's even more complicated and dangerous than when working for the mobs," Toris declined, "I assure you, though, I'm making sure the police don't find me."

"I should get going then," Feliks said, starting to back away, "I wouldn't want to be caught talking to you."

"Wait, just one second, Feliks," Toris begged, "Let me give you something here."

Feliks paused and watched as Toris grabbed a pencil and piece of paper from his pocket, and wrote something on it before holding it out to Feliks.

"Take this, it's my new phone number," Toris offered, "If you ever need anything, I will help however I can."

Feliks hesitated as he reached for the paper, before his gut instinct made him pull his empty hand back and shake his head.

"No, I can't take that," Feliks refused as he continued backing away, "Goodbye, Toris."

"Feliks, wait!" Toris pleaded, stepping forward towards him.

"Don't you dare drag me into your bullshit, Toris," Feliks demanded, "Stay away from me!"

Feliks turned and marched away as quickly as possible, ignoring how Toris was calling out for him. As much as it broke his heart to call it quits on someone he cared for, Feliks knew he had made the right call.

Toris could not be trusted anymore.


	18. Chapter 18

Lovino really wanted some of the coffee that was brewing in the kitchen, but he couldn't get himself to move away from the bathroom mirror.

That woman certainly liked to play rough.

When the quartet moved into the apartments, Elizaveta got the last 1-bedroom apartment to herself while Lovino shared a 2-bedroom unit with his brother. Once all the beds and furniture had been put in, Lovino found himself a bit lonely without Elizaveta to cuddle up to, and had some sleepless nights. After a few nights in their new homes, he was in her apartment watching a movie, and they both fell asleep cuddling on her bed. When they both awoke fully relaxed in the morning, they realized how accustomed they both had become to each other's presence. For the next few weeks, Lovino would sneak to her room at night so that they could share her bed. The others laughed at the pair but let them be, allowing their relationship to grow. It was just in the last couple nights where sharing a bed took a more passionate turn, and their relationship became intimate.

Hence the hickeys now covering Lovino's neck.

"Would you stop hogging the mirror?" Elizaveta teased as she swooped in behind him to hang her towel back up, "You're almost as vain as a woman."

"Well, I can't really help myself," Lovino defended, pulling her in close to him, "A particularly vicious bella donna left her mark all over my neck."

With his one arm wrapped around her face, he used his spare hand to gently cup her face as he brought her lips to his own. The kiss was passionate and intense, just the way he liked it, but was unfortunately interrupted by a beeping sound in the kitchen.

"Coffee's ready," Elizaveta pointed out as she pulled away, "And I start work in 15 minutes, so stop hogging me."

"Vicious and cruel," Lovino added on, "Must you tease me so?"

"I'm your girlfriend now," Elizaveta justified, "Teasing you is part of the job description."

Lovino followed slowly out of the bathroom, approaching the counter as Elizaveta ran around the kitchen. She had already placed two coffee mugs by him on the counter, so Lovino started pouring in the nearby cream while she grabbed the pot of coffee. Once she had finished pouring the first cup, Lovino took it and started sipping as he wandered into the den, past the couch and to the balcony door. He pulled aside the curtain, revealing the April storm outside.

"That looks miserable out there," Lovino remarked, "Might as well stay inside and work."

"I'm only helping through the lunch and dinner crowds," Elizaveta explained as she buttered her toast, "I'll make us some dinner for after you finish closing up the cafe tonight."

Lovino let go of the curtain, and walked over to the small computer station he had set up in the corner. The laptop was connected to multiple monitors, and had surveillance cameras watching all the entrances of the building and the dining area of the cafe. Although Lovino reassured Katerina it was primarily for business security, he also felt the personal need to make sure nobody tried to catch the former mobsters.

Despite the new living arrangements, and the chance to start a clean legal lifestyle, Lovino knew his past in the mafia would always haunt him, and the bad habits would not die without a fight. He was tempted to have the Vargas mob reborn, with the cafe as a cover for their base. Katerina had already warned him to keep her out of it as much as possible, and that she would blame everything on him if their activities were traced back to her business.

Lovino looked at one of the screens, and saw Natalya and Katerina rushing around to serve guests. The front door opened and a new guest walked in, with the hood of their wet coat covering their head. Katerina went to greet them, only to suddenly pause, drop her coffee pot on the counter, and rush over to hug the guest enthusiastically.

"Must be an old friend of Katya's," Elizaveta suggested, watching from beside Lovino.

Katerina ended the hug and started chattering while the guest removed their hood, revealing curly blonde hair and a very familiar face.

"It's Madeline," Lovino realized, "She's finally shown her face again!"

Lovino gulped on his coffee quickly as he went towards the door, leaving his cup on the kitchen counter as he walked by. He turned down the hallway to the staircase at the side of the building, and hurried down the flight of stairs. He turned at the bottom to enter the cafe kitchen, where Feliciano was talking through the order window while Yao was yelling at him to get back to work. Lovino marched past on his way to the swinging door connecting the kitchen to the front of the cafe. As he finally entered the dining area, he immediately spotted Madeline sitting at the counter.

"Well, look who finally showed her face again," Lovino greeted as he approached her, "This reunion could've been a lot sooner if you hadn't dumped your phone."

"I'm sorry, Lovi, but I couldn't risk hanging onto my SIM card," Madeline explained, "When Mikkel was arrested, I feared the police would find my number on his cellphone."

"I suppose that's a reasonable excuse," Lovino accepted, "So, where have you been hiding these last 6 months?"

"I have an apartment where I was able to lie low, along with a secure bank account that helped me make ends meet," Madeline divulged, "Unlike the rest of you that like to spend your mob money as quickly as possible, I had a little rainy day fund organized."

"Aren't you just the smartest fucking cookie on the block," Lovino commented, "What brings you out of hiding now?"

"As well as I planned out my safety net, it's starting to run out on me," Madeline continued, "I've worked the occasional job here and there, but nobody is using the black market anymore. Everyone else got scared off when Mikkel and your grandfather got busted, nobody wants to risk getting tracked down by the police. I've still got enough savings to keep my apartment, but I could use a legal job to help make ends meet. I decided to try applying for a job here as a waitress, only to walk in and find all of you."

"Smart and lucky," Lovino commented, "You sure know where and how to strike it rich."

"So, what's the deal here, anyways?" Madeline asked, leaning forward and lowering her voice so that other diners couldn't hear her, "Is this a fully legitimate business, or a cover for a new mob?"

"Both, more one than the other at the moment," Lovino replied, "Katya and Yao used Triad money to buy this business, they also own the apartments upstairs. We all work here and have rent deducted from our pay to live upstairs."

"Isn't that a convenient operation," Madeline noted, "And the mob activity?"

"Nothing yet, still in development stages," Lovino elaborated, "I'm thinking just the occasional side job, just enough to get a little extra cash coming in. The cafe and apartments are a good plus, but it's hard to live on so little."

"Especially when you like your Armani so much," Madeline teased, "Who else is in on this?"

"Katya had refused to get involved, she wants to keep her business as clean as possible," Lovino said, "Everyone else is willing to pitch in, as long as we're careful and smart about it. I'm sure we have space for one more person, if you're interested."

"Katerina has already offered me a part-time gig as a waitress," Madeline revealed, "As for your arrangements, I suppose you could count me in on your devious ways."

"It will be wonderful to work with you again," Lovino said, "When will you start?"

"Probably tomorrow, Katya said," Madeline disclosed, "She wants to look at my schedule to fit in my training shift. By the way, Lovi, if you don't mind me asking, who is this personal vampire of yours?"

"Elizaveta," Lovino chuckled, rubbing at his neck where the hickeys must have been showing.

"That's an interesting combination," Madeline teased, "Make sure she doesn't draw blood now. Hungary is very close to Transylvania, after all."

"Maddie, did you just call me a vampire?" they suddenly heard a voice ask, and Lovino turned to see Elizaveta looking at them through the kitchen window.

"I'll leave you girls to catch up," Lovino dismissed as he backed away to the kitchen door, "We'll talk more soon, Madeline."

The door opened before he could get to it, and he slipped through back into the kitchen while Elizaveta went out to speak to Maddie. As he strolled back through the kitchen towards the stairs to his apartment, Lovino could hear the chattering between the girls, and felt a bit of relief flow through him.

Out of those who escaped the mob busts without having caused it, everyone had now been accounted for.


	19. Chapter 19

"How is the food, gentlemen?"

"Very good, thank you."

"The pasta is delicious, thank you."

"Wonderful, our chefs would love to hear that!"

Their waitress walked over to another spot at the counter, and picked up a towel and a plate to dry. Kiku took another sip of his tomato soup, noting again how it was perfectly seasoned. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that Ludwig really was enjoying his fettucine alfredo.

The Sergeant and Corporal often passed by the Phoenix Cafe while on patrol, never stopping inside for a bite to eat. Since Ludwig's training was almost complete, and he was only about a month away from a promotion to becoming a Sergeant, Kiku offered to take him for lunch. Ludwig suggested they try out this cafe, and despite its reputation for being a greasy-spoon diner, they were pleased to find that the new management had turned it around. Kiku's soup and sandwich were very nicely made, while Ludwig seemed to really like the pasta.

Then again, the Corporal appeared to be even more interested in something other than his food.

The waitress that was serving them today could be considered as pretty by common standards. She had indigo eyes, long curly blonde hair, and a lovely figure. Although her tag named her as Maddie, she had revealed that this was short for Madeline. This information, of course, came through as she and Ludwig would not stop trying to chat whenever she had a spare moment at the counter.

The television above his head started playing a familiar anthem, and Kiku looked up to watch the news program that was just starting.

"Welcome to the lunch hour news for June 2nd, and here is today's top headline," the news anchor began, "Attorney General and Jones Conglomerates Incorporated shareholder Arthur Kirkland held a press conference today, demanding that his criminal wife and fellow JCI shareholder Mathilda Jones-Kirkland present herself in the public eye."

"You have made it clear to me, Mathilda, that you do not wish for our marriage to continue," Arthur was shown saying into a swarm of microphones at a podium, "I have already drafted paperwork for a divorce, and all we need is for you to show yourself and sign it."

"The Attorney General's statement comes on what is officially the 3-year anniversary of Mathilda's flight," the news anchor took back over, "The police have outstanding warrants for the arrest of the heiress and her associates, with charges of fraud, embezzlement, conspiracy, murder and treason against the government. Mr. Kirkland's divorce pleas are supported by Mathilda's crimes, along with those of adultery and desertion."

"Can you believe the nerve on him?" Maddie whined, also watching the television while drying a glass, "Does he really think that is enough for his wife to suddenly make an appearance?"

"His methods seem fairly straightforward to me," Kiku told her, "In the events of calling for divorce, Arthur does require that Mathilda present herself in some way, before the court will proceed with ending their marriage."

"I know, but I find it hard to believe that his wife would dare show her face," Maddie clarified, "Although she would be free from her marriage to him, she'd be the one paying the steeper price."

"What makes you say that?" Kiku quizzed.

"For one, that 45% of JCI shares makes her net worth higher than his," Maddie argued, "Even if they were to split their assets 50/50, she would have to give Arthur almost half of those shares. That would hardly be fair for her."

"She'd be better off with cash, if you ask me," Ludwig remarked, "She's made it clear that she holds a grudge against JCI, so it would be to her benefit to have Alfred and Arthur buy out any shares she has left, leaving her with a fortune to work with."

"Except for that she's already making do on the 50 million she stole when she first ran away," Maddie argued, "The only way she could already have spent 50 million dollars in 3 years is if she's been making purchases that could be traced down for their extravagance. Nope, she's found a way to make that 50 million work for her, and she's not going to risk showing herself and falling into a trap for anything more."

"Why do you call it a trap?" Kiku asked.

"There's no way in hell that they will let her walk in and out of a notary's office to sign the paperwork without police interference," Maddie elaborated, "Arthur will have you guys prepared to arrest her on the spot when and if she shows herself. When she is finally convicted, Arthur can demand even more of her shares as compensation for the divorce, not to mention all the damages he and Alfred could sue her for on account of what she tried to do to the company. By the time they're through with all that, the police will likely retain whatever is left of her equity when she is imprisoned. This would be auctioned to the highest bidder, which would end up being either Alfred or Arthur."

The two officers paused to consider Maddie's arguments before Ludwig finally came up with something to say.

"That analysis was amazing. How do you know so much about all this?"

"I've seen details here and there that make sense for the story," Maddie claimed, "And besides, who doesn't enjoy seeing a drama like this play out on the news? Especially with such an intriguing villain that can give JCI a run for their money."

"A drama with an intriguing villain?" Kiku checked, "Innocent people have been murdered by this woman, and yet you idolize her?"

"You may see a murderess, but I see a bold courageous woman who keeps outwitting those who would otherwise confine her for life," Maddie defended, "If you have a problem with that, then you should hurry up and catch her."

"Maddie's got a point there, Kiku," Ludwig chuckled, "She might have even won this round."

"We'll start the scoreboard at 1-0 for me then, eh?" Maddie suggested.

Noting her smirk, Kiku glanced quickly between the two of them, and realized that the flirting between the cop and waitress was mutual. Before he could react, the radio on his shoulder interrupted with a page from dispatch.

"Bank robbery in progress at Buffet Bank, 18th and Menzies. Lieutenant Van Ryn demands all available units in the area to report at the scene."

"We'll have to report to that, Ludwig," Kiku stated, standing up and grabbing his wallet from his back pocket, "Can I get our total, please?"

"Sure thing, I'll bring it right up here," Maddie said, "It should be around $25."

"You can keep the change," Kiku informed her as he placed $30 on the counter, "I don't need the receipt either."

"Thank you very much," Maddie said as the two cops walked over to the front door, "Have a good day!"

Kiku opened the door, and grabbed his radio from his shoulder once Ludwig had gone through as well.

"Sergeant Kiku Honda and Corporal Ludwig Bielschmidt reporting in," Kiku radioed to dispatch as he quickly circled the car and climbed into the passenger seat, "We are on our way to Buffet Bank."

Ludwig was already starting up the car as Kiku put on his seatbelt, and they were already en route within a minute. Before Ludwig could reach to turn on the siren, Kiku asked his question.

"So, what did you like most about the cafe? The food or the waitress?"

"That's a tough choice," Ludwig admitted with a chuckle as he flicked the switch for the siren, "I'll certainly have to return for both of them."

* * *

 ** _Author's Notes_**

 ** _The next chapter will be completed after my exam on July 6th._**

 ** _This is the chapter where I thought I would originally start the fanfic. However, once I realized how much backstory I would want on all these characters, I chose to start way back instead. That has already proven to be worthwhile, as you guys have latched onto the characters nicely, and now I can get much more into the upcoming plot._**

 ** _There were a couple other things I thought of including in this chapter and the next few for getting Ludwig much deeper into the plotline, but all the new ideas changed that around too. I originally imagined the cafe being set up like in Tokyo Ghoul. Back in January, I watched the first 12 episodes of Tokyo Ghoul for the first time, immediately followed by two of Nolan's Batman movies. As I tried to imagine all the different characters in that D &D Chaotic/Lawful Good/Evil alignment chart, this idea of this fanfic was born._**


	20. Chapter 20

The warm early June evening would have been fantastic for a stroll in the park, or touring the local pubs with his brother, but that wasn't planned for tonight.

No, Ludwig was working, and some idiot just had to try robbing a convenience store while he was parked just across the road. One thing after another led to Ludwig and Kiku chasing the burglar's old beater car down the streets of town.

"Does he really want to drag this out?" Ludwig groaned as he drove, while Kiku paged dispatch with updates on where they were.

The burglar impulsively turned left at the next intersection, so Ludwig went to follow him. Upon turning the corner, however, Ludwig hit the brakes. In his haste to switch lanes and turn right at the next street, the burglar had slammed his vehicle into the one next to it, pinning both cars against one parked at the side of the road. As Ludwig slowed their car down and parked it beside the crash, the burglar opened their car door, leapt out of the wreck, and made a run for it.

"Stop right there," Ludwig shouted as he left the police car, but the burglar kept running towards the street corner.

"Follow him, Ludwig, I'll check the other driver," Kiku directed, "Bella and Raivis are on their way to help."

Ludwig bolted around the far side of the crash, and followed the burglar as he rushed past the onlookers, rounded the corner, and disappeared from sight down the next street. Ludwig spun around the corner in pursuit, only to pause in confusion when he couldn't see the burglar anywhere. He grabbed his radio and prepared to report it, before he heard voices shouting down the next alley to his right.

"Hands up, bitch! Step away from the car, and give me the keys!"

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

Ludwig rushed over to the entrance of the alley, and looked down to see the burglar trying to drag a young woman from her car. The woman was putting up a fight, and before Ludwig could intervene, she swung a punch at the burglar's face, hitting him right in the nose. As the burglar backed away in pain, the woman then kicked him in the groin, making him fall to the ground in agony. Ludwig finally approached, and the woman turned to him.

"Officer, thank goodness you're here," the woman pleaded, "This man suddenly showed up, pointed his gun at me, and demanded I let him take my car."

"Yes, he also just robbed a convenience store and crashed into another vehicle," Ludwig added on as he kneeled down to keep the burglar pinned to the ground and pulled out his handcuffs, "Are you alright, miss?"

"Yes, I'm okay," she answered, "He didn't get to hurt me at all."

"Well, that's a relief," Ludwig commented, as he cuffed the man.

"For you, maybe," the burglar spat out, "She attacked me!"

"You threatened her first," Ludwig pointed out as he heard a vehicle approach, "She has a valid case for self-defense."

As he pulled the burglar back onto his feet, Ludwig saw that a police car parked at the alley entrance, with Bella and Raivis climbing out to help.

"Please stay right here for a moment, miss," Ludwig instructed the woman, "We'll need to talk to you."

He saw the woman nod before he pulled the burglar along towards his other coworkers.

"Good job catching him, Ludwig," Bella acknowledged, "And the woman over there?"

"She's a witness," Ludwig explained as he handed the man off to Raivis, "The burglar tried to steal her car, but she fought back."

"Go ahead and question her," Bella ordered, "We'll get this guy packed up."

Ludwig nodded to Bella before turning back to head towards the young woman. As he approached her again, he finally took note of her lovely appearance. She was wearing skinny jeans, and a nice red shirt under a black jacket. Her long, straight blonde hair was tied back and draped over her shoulder.

"If you don't mind me asking, miss, have we met before?" Ludwig asked as he pulled his notebook from his pocket, "You look awfully familiar."

"We actually just met earlier this week," the woman replied, "I am the waitress from the Phoenix Cafe."

"Ah yes, Maddie, of course," Ludwig remembered, "I almost didn't recognize you with the straight hair."

"That's okay, I normally keep it curly anyways," Madeline shrugged off, "My hair cooperates with whatever I do to it, though, and I like straightening it for special occasions."

"And what was tonight's occasion, if I may ask?" he pried.

"My friend set me up on a blind date that turned out horrendously," she explained, "The guy was an absolute boar, and I never want to see him again. Luckily, another friend called me in the middle of the date, and pulled me out of there. She has a work emergency, and asked me to grab a couple boxes of files from her office."

"Is that why you're parked in one of the sketchiest alleys in town?" he queried, noting the boxes in the back seat of the car, "At one of the most dangerous times of night?"

"Well, you did just see first-hand that I can defend myself," Madeline justified with a smirk, "And besides, even if I couldn't, there's always brave and strong police officers like yourself to protect me."

"I suppose that may be true," Ludwig accepted, noting the way she explained herself, "You do have the choice to press charges, if you wish."

"I don't think that will be needed," Madeline turned down, "He didn't really get the chance to hurt me, and I was able to stop him. You can just note me as an anonymous Good Samaritan."

"That would certainly be allowed," he allowed, "I still need some contact information, though, in case your testimony is needed for court. Can I get your full name and phone number, please?"

"Oh yes, of course," she complied, "My full name is Madeline Aurelle Williams, and my cell is 857-389-4206."

"Perfect, that's all I need for now," Ludwig confirmed as he finished writing the information in his notebook, hesitating before continuing to speak, "If you don't mind me asking, Maddie, would you oppose to your number being called for non-police matters?"

"That would depend on the matter at hand," she countered, "Why do you ask?"

"Because if you're willing, I'd like to ask you out for coffee sometime," Ludwig proposed, stuttering a bit as he tried to fight his nerves and get the bold words out.

"You mean, you're asking me out on a date?" she pinned down.

Ludwig nodded, feeling the blush quickly grow on his cheeks. Madeline gave him a scrutinizing look with one eyebrow raised, appraising him as if to decide if he were worthy prey. Finally her face relaxed.

"I'm normally very picky, but you certainly have potential," she judged, "I suppose a coffee date would be worth a shot. I'd be happy to meet you for coffee sometime next week."

"That would be wonderful, Maddie," Ludwig said, "Would there be a good time to call?"

"Sunday afternoon is when I get my work schedule for the following week," Madeline elaborated, "You should call me that evening to see when my days off are."

"I can definitely call you then," Ludwig accepted, "I suppose we're about done here, you're free to leave."

"Wonderful, my friend must be waiting for me," Madeline remarked as she went to get into her car, "I'll hear from you soon, then."

"Have a good night, Madeline," Ludwig said as she sat in her car and shut the door.

Madeline started up the car, and began to pull forward. Ludwig turned towards the alley entrance, and motioned for Bella to let Madeline drive through.

Perhaps he had to work on this lovely June evening, but Ludwig doubted that even Gilbert could land a burglar and a date in a 5-minute span like he had.


	21. Chapter 21

"Is it done yet?"

"Almost there, Tonio, 98% complete now."

"Screw the last 2%, I'm cracking open the wine."

Ivan rolled his eyes before continuing to monitor the screen, ignoring the sounds of Antonio shuffling around to pour the wine. Although Mathilda was already on her way back to their base with all the hard copies, Ivan still wanted to make sure the program completed the remote access database wipes. He had been burned once before on a piece of their master plan, and didn't want to see that happen again.

"I'm just pulling into the garage," Mathilda paged on their private radio channel, "Can you boys come help me with these boxes please?"

Ivan turned to tell the other boys to get moving, but Toris was already at the microphone and pressing down the button to reply.

"I'm on my way down, Mattie."

As Toris left the microphone and headed to the building entrance, Antonio approached Ivan's side with a glass of wine in each hand. Ivan took the glass from Antonio's right hand, allowing the Spaniard to then start playing with the second computer screen.

"You need to relax, Ivan," Antonio encouraged as he started up some lively Spanish music, "This is a simple operation, not your complicated supercomputer."

"I know that, but I still worry," Ivan said, spotting the computer's status bar shift to 99%, "I never want to fail her again."

"I know you don't, but we all know better now through the experience," Antonio assured, "Do we need to reset their house alarm again tonight?"

"I've already done it remotely," Ivan confirmed, "Arthur tried to deactivate her passwords for accessing the mansion again, so I reactivated them and had it used remotely a while ago."

"I wonder if he's noticed we've been doing this as an alibi on her desertion charges yet," Antonio contemplated, "Still, this would have been a great night for Mathilda to break in personally."

"Why do you say that?" Ivan asked curiously.

"She could've snuck into the house and drawn a mustache on Arthur's face while he slept," Antonio elaborated, "With a thick bold black permanent marker, though, not that red one."

"Okay, that would have been funny," Ivan chuckled, "Imagine him waking up and finding a huge curly mustache on his face that he can't wash off."

"Seriously, that would have been the cherry on top," Antonio agreed, "Although I wouldn't do the curly stache for Arthur. I'd give him the two little bars, like Hitler had."

"Who are we comparing to Hitler now?" a feminine voice interrupted, and Ivan turned to see Mathilda and Toris at the end of the hallway to the stairs, each of them holding a box in their hands.

"Your still-lawfully-wed husband, gatina," Antonio explained, "I was telling Ivan that you should've snuck into your house tonight, and drawn a Hitler mustache on Arthur's face with a thick black permanent marker."

"As fantastic as that sounds, the Hitler stache might go over Arthur's head," Mathilda considered, allowing Toris to take her box and put it aside, "A nice big curly one would be much more dramatic."

"That's what I recommended," Ivan added in before the group paused to notice the music change over to a very familiar tune.

"Oh my god, really, Tonio?" Mathilda groaned, "Enrique Iglesias made it into your Spanish music playlist?"

"Come on, gatina, this is our song," Antonio justified, before putting down his glass and beginning to sing along, "Would you cry if you saw me crying, and would you save my soul tonight?"

As he sang along, Antonio took Mathilda's hand and spun her in a circle, before pulling her in close and slowly dancing with her. As Ivan watched them dance, he remembered how Antonio has been so willing to risk everything to protect her, even after she chose to be with Ivan over him. The song reached the chorus, and Antonio started peppering kisses on Mathilda's cheek, prompting Ivan to take that as his queue to step in. He gently approached the dancing couple as they spun, took Mathilda's wrist and removed it from Antonio's hand. Ivan saw Antonio freeze in his place as Mathilda spun out of his arms and into Ivan's embrace, before the Russian leaned in and claimed her lips.

"Oh come on, really?" Antonio objected as Ivan and Mathilda completed their kiss.

"You know the rules, Tonio," Ivan warned, ignoring Toris's snickering in the background, "You might be her knight in shining armour, but I'm Prince Charming."

"Fuck you," Antonio whined, "Mathilda, could you tell him to loosen up a bit?"

"Well, he does have a point," she said, "Although, I do have something a hero could do for me."

"What would that be?" Antonio eagerly asked.

"Go help Toris with the rest of the boxes."

Ivan couldn't help but smile at that, and nearly joined Toris in laughing at Antonio's expense. The poor Spaniard deadpanned, before rolling his eyes in disappointment and heading for the stairs. As the giggling Lithuanian followed, a ping sounded from the computer alerted Ivan of the program's status.

"It looks like we just hit 100%," Ivan informed Mathilda as he clicked the last few links to see the program results, "It was a clean run, all the targeted data has been wiped."

"Fantastic work, darling," Mathilda praised, "And the house alarm?"

"Your code has been reactivated and used," Ivan reported, "Antonio asked about that too, that's what prompted the mustache discussion."

"That would have been quite funny, actually," Mathilda said, "Just imagine how hard it would be for the others to take Arthur seriously, with that big curly mustache drawn on his face."

"I'd wager even that snooty police commissioner would crack a smile at it," Ivan remarked.

"Speaking of Roderich, I think I found a way we can incorporate pissing him off into our master plan," Mathilda announced.

"Oh really," Ivan asked as she took over the computer, "How so?"

"Our plans still revolve around taking them out, that hasn't changed," Mathilda explained as she opened up a program, "However, I may have found a way to destroy them from the inside as well."

Mathilda clicked on a few more links, before the screen filled with a known person's picture and identification.

"That one?" Ivan inquired, "What about him?"

"I might have the opportunity to seduce him," Mathilda elaborated, "Just imagine the shitshow when they find that one of their own has been lured to the dark side."

"And what of his elder?" Ivan reminded, pulling another known person's picture and identification up on the next screen.

"I'll have to keep an eye out for him, but that can be managed," Mathilda clarified, "He'll likely be the most profoundly affected when they realize what I've done."

"Although your idea is a good one, I do have one reservation about it," Ivan argued, "What does this mean for your loyalty to me?"

"Aw, is my polar bear jealous?" Mathilda cooed sweetly, "Rest assured, sweetie, I will do my best to keep his grimy paws off me. Besides, it's only a temporary thing. Once we've unleashed the master plan, you and I can finally marry."

"That day cannot come soon enough, моя богиня," Ivan confided, before giving her a kiss.

"Soon, we'll be free, my love," Mathilda whispered against his lips, "We can travel the world together as husband and wife, before settling in Russia to start a family."

"And this time, there'll be no need for you to drown any children in whiskey," Ivan remarked.

Mathilda gave him a subtle glare before rolling his eyes at him.

"You know, it's probably a good thing our affair didn't start until after that incident," she murmured, giving him another peck to the lips, "If there was even the smallest chance it wasn't Arthur's, I might have kept it."

"I do suppose it turned out better this way," Ivan commented, "If you had kept it, then Arthur would've kept you from me, and prevented me from ever knowing what love is."

"You're too good for me, Ivan," Mathilda sighed, giving him another kiss, "You've been so patient, my love. I could not ask you for anything more than what you've given me."

"You've been worth waiting for, моя богиня," Ivan assured, before taking the lead and kissing Mathilda more intensely. As the embrace deepened, their bodies pushed against each other even more, enhancing the smoldering passion between them. The kiss unfortunately faded away quickly as they heard the voices of their cohorts coming back upstairs.

"Should we continue or stop?" Ivan asked.

"Continue," Mathilda said as she pecked his lips before taking his hands, and Ivan let her gently guide him towards the bedroom.

* * *

 ** _Author's Notes_**

 ** _And I'll just stop right there, because despite being 27 years old now, I have yet to figure out how to write smut._**

 ** _According to Google Translate, "моя богиня" is Russian for "my goddess" and is pronounced as "moya boginya". It sounds prettier than the translations for other pet names.._**

 ** _And yes, I need the domestic scene in there with Ivan, Mathilda and Antonio, to show their more human sides. There are also some hints in this chapter for what I have planned._**


	22. Chapter 22

"Bonjour, ma chère Suzanne, would you please inform Roderich -"

"The Commissioner is in a meeting, Mr. Bonnefoy," Suzie shot down without even looking up to greet the lawyer, "I have explicit instructions not to disturb him."

"What if you told him I was here on the Mathilda Jones case?" Francis asked.

The Frenchman smirked as the receptionist paused to look up and give him a subtle glare, before picking up the phone in defeat. A minute later, she was speaking into the receiver.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, Commissioner, but Francis Bonnefoy is here. He claims it is about Mathilda Jones."

After a moment, she passed the phone to Francis, who then placed it at his ear.

"Bonjour, Roderich," Francis greeted.

"I'm busy right now, Francis," Roderich scolded, "Make it quick, or I'll hang up on you."

"Mathilda broke into my office last night," Francis revealed as briefly as possible, earning a brief pause in response.

"Come up to my office immediately," Roderich finally responded before hanging up.

"Merci, ma chèrie," Francis thanked Suzie as he passed the phone back to her, "I can find my way to his office."

Francis strolled past the reception desk to the elevators, where one was just opening up for a waiting officer. As Francis rushed over, the officer entered the elevator, turned to see Francis, and held it open.

"Merci beaucoup, Ludwig," Francis greeted as he joined the Corporal in the elevator.

"Not a problem, Francis," Ludwig said with a small smile as he selected his floor, "Where are you headed this morning?"

"Same floor as you, I need to visit Roderich's office," Francis informed, before noting the Corporal's oddly pleasant mood, "You seem particularly happy this morning, Ludwig, did something happen?"

"I've met a brilliant and gorgeous woman named Madeline," Ludwig revealed, "She gave me her number last night."

"That's wonderful news, Ludwig," Francis cheered as the elevator began to move, "When will you see her again?"

"She's promised to join me for a coffee date later this week," Ludwig disclosed, "We have yet to work out the details."

"I would recommend Le Cafe Moulin on 25th," Francis suggested, "The coffee and pastries are fantastic, and the place is perfect for first dates."

"Ah yes, I was actually considering that cafe," Ludwig admitted, "I appreciate knowing that it would be a good choice, thank you."

"De rien, Ludwig."

The elevator stopped moving, and pinged as the doors opened to reveal their floor. Both men left the elevator, and strolled to the main area where the cubicles began splitting the various paths to each spot.

"Well, my desk is this way," Ludwig said, nodding towards the section of cubicles to the left, "I'll see you around, Francis."

"Of course, have a good day."

Francis went off to the immediate right, taking the path that acted as a hallway around the outside of the cubicles. He turned at the far corner where the cubicles ended and the enclosed offices began, following them along the right side of the room. He stopped as he reached the middle, and knocked on the door to Roderich's office. It was opened a moment later, by someone who wasn't the Commissioner.

"Ah bonjour, Vash," Francis greeted, "I wasn't expecting you to be here."

"Just shut up and get in," Vash grunted, opening the door further to allow passage.

Francis entered the room to see Arthur pacing around in his fury, while Alfred sat in one of the guest chairs. Roderich was standing by his desk, since Gilbert was sitting in the Commissioner's chair. The Sergeant was watching something on Roderich's computer, while Lieutenant Van Ryn looked over his shoulder.

"Good morning, everyone," Francis hailed, "This is indeed quite the meeting I'm interrupting, isn't it? A perfect coincidence, I needed to speak to you JCI gentlemen as well."

"Francis, we don't have time to waste here," Roderich deflected, "How is it that Mathilda broke into your office?"

"When I got to work this morning, there was a message from my alarm company," Francis explained, "They informed me that someone got into the office late last night. The woman they spotted on camera somehow found out my passcode for the alarm, and she also had a copy of the key for the front door."

"How do you know this wasn't one of your workers?" Arthur questioned, "What makes you say that it had to be Mathilda?"

"She left me a letter of confession," Francis defended, pulling a small plastic evidence bag from the inside of his jacket containing the letter and a USB drive, "She stole all my hardcopy documents for the divorce case and the criminal convictions, and left this note for me in their spot."

"God damn it, not you too," Alfred groaned, "Do you at least still have any digital copies?"

"I have my office manager investigating that right now," Francis disclosed, handing the evidence to Roderich, "Last I knew, Jeanne was having trouble finding anything."

"What's on the USB?" Gilbert asked as Roderich gave him the evidence in turn.

"That would be the security camera footage," Francis explained, "I had the alarm company prepare anything they could for me as documentation."

"How the bloody fuck does she do this all in one night?" Arthur snarled, slamming his fists on Roderich's desk.

"Please don't destroy my office, Arthur," Roderich requested, "I'm rather fond of this antique desk."

"It would appear I am missing some of the story here," Francis pointed out, "Would someone mind filling me in on what else happened?"

"In addition to your office, Mathilda also broke into Arthur's office and the courthouse," Vash enlightened, "The hard copy documents for the divorce case and criminal convictions were all stolen, and all the digital copies have been wiped from every computer and server they were saved to."

"She did all that in one night?" Francis gasped, "All the legal paperwork is gone?"

"Aside from our police records, only one copy of the drafted divorce statement remains," Lars stated, picking up a document from the desk and handing it over to Francis, "As you will see, though, she's rendered it void and useless in a court of law."

Francis was confused until he started flipping through the paperwork, immediately spotting what Lars was referring to. The paperwork was covered in X's, no's, refusals, and other sassy comments all written with a red permanent marker. The pièce de résistance was on the last page, where the spots allocated for her to sign and someone to witness were filled with a refusal to ever sign the documents, let alone in front of a notary.

"Mon dieu, she was very thorough," Francis remarked, handing the document back to Lars.

"Roderich, this woman in the Bonnefoy office footage is definitely Mathilda," Gilbert confirmed, "She even has the same outfit as in the other video, only her hair is tied back this time."

"What other video?" Francis inquired.

"As if her antics weren't enough, she left a webcam video for Arthur on his desktop," Gilbert elaborated, "She profusely refuses to sign anything, since it's apparently to her benefit to remain married to him for the time being."

"Now that sounds too good to be a coincidence," Francis noted, suddenly realizing which pieces were supposed to connect, "Would one of you boys care to read Mathilda's note for everyone to hear, please?"

"What the fuck does this have to do with anything?" Arthur growled, "The psychotic whore obviously doesn't know what she wants!"

"Dear Francis, I'm afraid I must decline your persistent offer of legal services," Lars read aloud from the note, "Although it does not exist yet, you will have a conflict of interest for my case. By the time I'm done with Arthur, you will be the lead prosecutor for my criminal proceedings. I will see you in court, when and if that ever happens. Sincerely, Mathilda Jones."

"As Attorney General, it is normally Arthur's task to prosecute her," Francis analyzed, "The only circumstance where I would qualify to take his place is if something ruined Arthur's ability to present himself in court. Of course, the standard reputational and mental capacities are primarily in Arthur's control, but there is something Mathilda could orchestrate that would also take advantage of her current legal rights."

"What would she try to do?" Arthur demanded, "And what legal rights could she possibly still have?"

"As long as she remains your spouse, your marriage contract stipulates that she remains your sole beneficiary until she agrees to change it," Francis clarified, "As it stands right now, in the case of your death, she gets your shares and majority control of JCI."

"You think she wants to kill Arthur?" Vash checked.

"Not only that, but if the murder of Lien Nguyen tells us anything, it's that she also wants to remain Alfred's sole beneficiary," Francis continued, "Her plan is to gain 100% control of Jones Conglomerates Incorporated, at the expense of having to kill her brother and her husband."

The group paused in shock to consider what the Frenchman had just put together.

"Holy fuck, she wants me dead?" Arthur muttered, leaning against Roderich's desk to support himself, "Is that what she has been plotting this whole time?"

"As plausible as that sounds, it still doesn't make sense," Alfred intervened, "If all she wanted to do was kill us and gain control of the company, she could've easily done it three years ago by poisoning our water. Why would she have gone through the trouble of building that supercomputer, and nearly destroying the company, if all she wants is full ownership of JCI?"

"I'm afraid Alfred has a good point there, Francis," Vash agreed, "The fact that she made a supercomputer with the intention of destroying JCI does not match well with a desire to control the company."

"Even if she still wants to destroy the company, killing Arthur and Alfred still doesn't fit her master plan," Roderich added on, "The only doors to the sealed supercomputer room requires all three shareholders to have their eyes and hands scanned. If Arthur and Alfred are dead, Mathilda can never again access that weapon of mass destruction."

"Hold on a second, Roderich," Gilbert interrupted, "How does the scanning work again?"

"The door has 6 scanners set up, three for handprints and three for scanning eyes," Vash described, "Each shareholder would place their right hand on the scanner to have their prints scanned, before the retina scanner emerges from the wall to scan their eyes. This door is designed so that all six scanners must be used simultaneously to open it. It is also specifically set up so that the only users that can open it are Arthur, Alfred and Mathilda."

"And what exactly are the scanners looking for?" Gilbert verified, "Do they only look to identify the hands and eyes, or do they also check to make sure they have a pulse going through them?"

"I think they only check for identification," Vash answered uncertainly, "I'm not sure I follow the rest of your question."

"Okay, let me reword that part," Gilbert tried again, "Do the scanners require that their eyes and hands be attached to the rest of their bodies?"

"Are you suggesting that Mathilda might try to remove my eyes from their sockets?" Arthur accused.

"Oh no, she doesn't need to go that far, and those would be hard to hold up to the scanner," Gilbert clarified, "Holding up your decapitated head would be far easier."

"In other words, she could kill us, chop off our heads and right hands, open the doors to the supercomputer, and destroy JCI?" Alfred summarized.

"I suppose you could say she literally wants your heads on a silver platter," Gilbert summed up with a smirk, prompting Lars to grab a folder from Roderich's desk and smack Gilbert's head with it.

"That was terrible, Gilbert," Lars scolded, "Inappropriate as well."

"Oh come on, that's the best use of the expression we'll ever see," Gilbert defended, "I've got to admit, as much as she may be driving you all bonkers, Mathilda might be the most brilliant criminal we will ever face."

"Roderich, can we please get this hothead out of the room?" Arthur demanded, "If he's not going to take this seriously, then he shouldn't be on the case."

"I'll agree with you on his behaviour, but the case is still going to Gilbert," Roderich decided.

"Wait, you're actually putting Gilbert on the case?" Lars asked, "Doesn't this one require a Lieutenant's authorization privileges?"

"Sadiq used to work on this while it was a smaller case, but it's become too complicated to keep as a side project," Roderich explained, "You will still be on the case as well, Lars, but I also need you to lead the other officers. Gilbert has accomplished more in a few months that what Sadiq did over a couple years, we need him on this case."

"Thank you for the vote of confidence, Roderich," Gilbert accepted, "Rest assured, everyone, I will take this seriously, and I will bring Mathilda into the hands of justice."

"It will be about bloody time when that happens," Arthur said, "Give him access to the restricted files, Roderich, he'll need them."

"I can assume that everything that has been discussed here is going into those restricted files, isn't it?" Francis pried, "Since Mathilda has made it clear that she doesn't want my representation, does this mean I will no longer be involved?"

"I don't mind keeping you in the loop, if Roderich agrees to it," Gilbert suggested, "After all, Arthur may be a bit biased, and I could use a neutral point of view once in a blue moon."

"How the fuck am I biased?" Arthur challenged.

"You represent both the government and JCI, and are looking to prosecute your wife and fellow shareholder," Gilbert backed up, "In terms of the professional discipline regulations taught in law schools, you're probably the worst offender of 'conflict of interest' the courts will ever see."

"I'm afraid Gilbert has a point there, Arthur," Roderich confirmed, "Francis, if you are willing, I can certainly keep you involved in the case for whenever we need another opinion."

"I'd be more than happy to help," Francis accepted.

* * *

 ** _Author's Notes_**

 ** _I already had Gilbert being a bit of an ass in this scene before coming up with the silver platter line. Everyone else is being so serious and pissy, while he's just sitting there laughing his head off at how clever Mathilda is._**

 ** _Just a quick translation note from last chapter, "gatina" is Spanish for "kitten", and this is Antonio's special pet name for Mathilda. More of their tragic backstory will come up later, as will how Arthur is being so heavily biased and influential._**


	23. Chapter 23

"A police sergeant that majored in political science? How is that supposed to help the world?"

"Two of us police sergeants majored in political science, actually. I followed in my brother's footsteps."

Madeline sipped on her coffee, noting the rich flavour from the beans. Ludwig had just been promoted from Corporal to Sergeant earlier that week, so they went out for lunch at downtown cafe to celebrate.

"You still haven't answered my question," she reminded, "How is studying political science supposed to help a cop?"

"To be fair, I didn't originally plan to be a police officer," Ludwig explained, "My major in political science was supposed to set me up for law school, where I could chase a career in law or politics. When I saw my brother doing well with police work, I decided to join him, and enrolled for the police academy immediately after finishing my degree."

"And what led your brother to going from political science to the police academy?"

"Gilbert actually had a similar career idea as I did, although he was a bit more interested in the politics. He did make it to law school, but flunked out in his second year. He was at his lowest point when he found inspiration to join the police academy."

"What was that inspiration?"

Ludwig chuckled as Madeline sipped on her coffee.

"Believe it or not, it was that questionable idol of yours," he elaborated, "Mathilda Jones had just been caught in her illegal acts, and she quickly climbed the most-wanted list when she ran away with her accomplices. Gilbert saw the news, and was inspired to join the hunt for these elusive criminals. He's done quite well for himself, actually, I'm proud of him."

"I suppose that makes sense for choosing a career path," Madeline commented as Ludwig paused to sip at his own coffee, "Inspiration can really come from anywhere, after all, and your brother certainly listened when it called to him."

"You know, Madeline, we've been dating almost a month now, and you have yet to mention your own family," Ludwig pointed out, "Do you have any brothers or sisters? Are your parents still around at all?"

"I think they're still alive, but that's no concern to me," Madeline attempted to dismiss as she raised her drink to her lips, "I haven't actually spoken to them in years."

"You're separated from your family? May I ask why?"

Madeline slowly sipped as she decided what to say, and reluctantly set down her cup when she had it figured out.

"My parents were wealthy aristocrats who raised me to be a modern Southern belle," Madeline explained, "My father held many successful investments, and my brother Allen was set to inherit everything. They were very traditional, and wanted me to marry another young aristocrat named George and be his perfect wife."

"It sounds like you had your life laid out nice and easy for you," Ludwig commented, "What led you out here instead?"

"It's actually because of my life being planned for me, actually," she elaborated, "I wanted to be free and choose for myself, but they were trying to set everything in stone for me. When my father nearly had my betrothal to George finalized, I reached my breaking point and ran away from him. I packed what I could, took some cash out at our bank, and fled here to the city."

"So, you chose to struggle with the rest of us over living the rich life?"

"I'd much rather be working these crappy jobs than be trapped in a miserable life where I have no choice at all."

Madeline noted that Ludwig was about to say something further, before something outside caught his attention. Madeline turned to look as well, spotting the large mob of protesters walking down the street.

"What do you think they're raving about?" she asked curiously.

"I'm not quite sure, actually, but they're heading to the congress buildings," Ludwig observed, "We could go check it out, if that's okay with you."

"Sure, I don't mind."

Madeline quickly finished her coffee as Ludwig motioned for the waitress, and was ready to grab her things just as the bill was brought over. He quickly gave the waitress some cash, before allowing Madeline to lead the way out of the cafe.

Once they were outside, the couple paused momentarily to watch the crowd and read the signs being held up, before jumping onto the street and joining the march. As they walked along, Madeline noted a variety of signs promoting various workers unions.

"Nurses, teachers, ironworkers," Madeline noted, "There's so many unions represented here."

"I think I heard about this protest on the news, actually," Ludwig commented, "JCI is looking to illegalize unions, and that would threaten the work security, wages and benefits that these people earn now."

"Without unions to protect the workers, companies could get away with paying wages less than we can live on," Madeline analyzed, "While JCI and their shareholder friends deepen their pockets, everyone else fights for the scraps. It is a valid cause that these unions are fighting for, but I'm not sure the government is going to listen."

"What makes you say that, Madeline?"

"20 years ago, it was absolutely unacceptable and ludicrous for politicians to have their decisions bought out by large corporations," Madeline explained, "Everything went downhill when Andrew Jones convinced them to throw out the rules, so that he could start buying them out. Now, JCI has a hand in everything the politicians will look at, and they'd rather appease Jones and Kirkland's investment returns over the needs of the people."

"I was there for those riots a few years ago, when JCI gained complete control," Ludwig said, "Gilbert and I were students at the time, and got swept up in the protests. I was still able to pass my courses that term, but Gilbert got carried away with the revolution, and flunked out of law school in the process."

"And now you both work for the corporate overlords you once protested against," Madeline sneered, "Your humanitarian standards have dropped off, I would say."

"I think that's an unfair statement," Ludwig argued, "Maybe Gilbert joined for the thrill of hunting down the lawbreakers, but I want to serve and protect the honest citizens."

"It doesn't matter either way, you're both still bound to the rules and ethics as set by the government, and by JCI in turn," Madeline countered, "You once fought against the oppressive forces, and now you serve them instead. You may think you're helping society, but everything you're doing only helps maintain the tyrannical status quo. And it's not just the police either, don't get me wrong on that. The only ways to remain a law-abiding citizen nowadays is to blindly follow the rules set by JCI and their puppets, and this needs to be changed."

"Well, if things need to change, aren't these protests a good way to start that?" Ludwig inquired.

"Having random people yelling at the top of their lungs can only do so much," Madeline turned down, "What we need is someone who can tear apart this regime from the inside. We need someone to rise and take the power to change the world, rather than rely on begging everyone else to change."

"Please don't tell me that you have Mathilda Jones in mind for that," Ludwig groaned.

"You're the one who keeps bringing her up here, Ludwig," Madeline chuckled, "But yes, Mathilda could probably do it."

* * *

 ** _Author's Notes_**

 ** _I have this world set in a reality where big business has completely bought out the government. Nowadays in North America, we seem limited to "political sponsorships", so it's not that bad yet. Still, imagine if Trump had completely bought out the US federal government and had them focus more on his investment returns than the people. That's essentially what's happened in this AU, with JCI controlling everything. They also control most large businesses in some way, so acting lawfully is essentially allegiance to JCI._**

 ** _Okay, enough politics for now. Next chapter is going to get interesting._**


	24. Chapter 24

If there was one thing Gilbert didn't understand about criminals, it was why they'd risk breaking into banks in the middle of the night.

As midnight approached on the warm early August evening, they were in heavy pursuit of a group who had broken into a local credit union, cracked open the vault and taken the cash. Their van was now racing down the streets, flanked by two motorcyclists who both had their blonde hair hanging out the back of their helmets. The police were following closely, with Gilbert driving the car while Lars paged orders on the radio.

As they pulled through another intersection, Gilbert spotted another police car about to turn left onto 12th Street and join them.

"Bielschmidt, Honda, follow us closely," Lars paged to the other car, "Be ready to follow them if either of our motorcyclists split off."

"Roger that, Lieutenant," Ludwig replied from the other vehicle.

"Sergeant Maes reporting in, we're still several blocks away," Bella relayed, "We should expect to merge routes with you in 3 minutes."

After a few more blocks of going straight, the van suddenly turned left at the intersection to head down Birch Avenue. The motorcyclist on the right had plenty of space to turn, but the one on the left was forced to stop so that they wouldn't hit the van. The motorcyclist began swerving like crazy, losing balance of the bike before finally falling sideways to the pavement.

"Honda and Bielschmidt, apprehend the driver," Lars ordered, "We'll continue after the van and the second motorcycle."

"Roger that," Ludwig answered as Gilbert turned left through the intersection, slowing down a little bit in order to make sure he avoided where the motorcyclist had wiped out.

"Sergeant Maes, we're heading south on Birch Avenue after the van and one motorcyclist," Lars passed on, "We need immediate backup, as quickly as you can get here."

"We're almost there, Lieutenant," Bella checked in, "We're taking Elm Avenue, and will turn onto 20th to intercept your path."

"So we have to make sure they keep on this road to 20th then, eh?" Gilbert asked.

"Sounds like it, let's hope they don't turn again," Lars confirmed.

The van and motorcycle stayed true to the straight path until about 18th street. The motorcyclist finally moved from their original position to the right behind the van, picking up speed to pass the van and go out front, making Gilbert lose sight of it.

"What's going on up there?" Lars remarked, trying to lean over to see around the van.

As Gilbert refocused on what was ahead of them, he suddenly saw the motorcyclist come out to the left side of the van, having cut across the lane. As the van continued forward, the motorcyclist suddenly spun into a donut in the next lane over, barely keeping from tipping all the way over as they appeared not to have slowed down. Once they came out of their spin, they sped up in the opposite direction, heading straight towards the police car.

"What the fuck are they doing?" Gilbert muttered.

"Gilbert, move, they're going to hit us!" Lars demanded urgently, reaching over to try and turn Gilbert's steering wheel for him.

Gilbert finally snapped out of his shock and spun the wheel clockwise, swerving their vehicle to the right and narrowly missing the head-on collision with the motorcycle. Gilbert finally gained his bearings in time to see the telephone pole they were about to hit on the side of the road.

"Holy shit!"

Time seemed to slow down at the moment of impact between the vehicle and the pole. Gilbert felt himself lunging forward, despite the best efforts of his seatbelt to keep him against the back of the seat. His chest was about halfway to the steering wheel before the airbag emerged and inflated from the wheel's centre. The cushioning halted Gilbert's forward momentum, and combined with the stopping of the vehicle's motion to push him back against his seat.

Gilbert felt the wind get knocked out of him as his back and neck made their backwards impact, and noticed a slight pain from the whiplash. However, as he got his breath again and calmed himself down, he realized that he was completely fine otherwise. As his brain began processing sounds again, he could hear Lars groaning, and turned to see that the Lieutenant was trying to reach for the radio.

"Are you okay, Lars?" Gilbert asked, noting that the man appeared to be in pain.

"I banged my head hard, and my neck got it bad too," Lars moaned, finally grasping the radio and bringing it up to his lips, "How about you?"

"A small amount of whiplash too, but I'm good otherwise," Gilbert reported.

"Dispatch, we need emergency services to Birch Avenue between 18th and 19th right now," Lars paged, "The second motorcyclist attempted to cause a head-on collision, and we swerved into a telephone pole. Gilbert says he's okay, but I'm going to need a medic for whiplash and a possible concussion."

As Lars spoke to dispatch, Gilbert heard the revving of a motorcycle engine behind them somewhere, and remembered they had been in the middle of a pursuit. He reached over and pulled on his door handle, pleased to find the door still answered him and opened properly. Gilbert removed his seat belt before pushing himself out of the vehicle, squeezing himself out from where he was wedged between the seat and the airbag. As he finally released himself from the confines of the crashed vehicle, Gilbert stumbled onto his two feet, and looked up to see the motorcyclist watching him from a few feet away.

"Oh, you escaped without a scratch," the motorcyclist jeered with a clearly feminine voice, "What a pity."

Before Gilbert could respond, she revved the engine and began to turn the bike away to escape. Realizing he couldn't let her escape, Gilbert pulled his gun out of the holster at his waist, aimed at the key spot, and fired.

It was a perfect shot.

The motorcycle's back tire only took a second or two to start visibly deflating, and only a little longer before the hubcap popped off. The motorcyclist quickly lost control of the bike and was forced to the ground, leaving her seat and rolling onto the ground.

"Dispatch, this is Sergeant Gilbert Bielschmidt reporting in," Gilbert paged on his radio as he approached the woman, "We lost track of the van when we crashed, but I am apprehending the second motorcyclist right now."

"Dispatch, I have the ID here for the first motorcyclist," Gilbert heard his little brother report to dispatch on the radio channel, "Driver's licence 7843541, last name Arlovskaya, given names Natalya Maria."

Gilbert reached the side of his motorcyclist and pressed his foot against her back, pinning her to the spot so that she couldn't flee. He pulled both her hands behind her back, and swiftly secured them in handcuffs. Once she was bound, Gilbert removed his foot from her back, before pulling her up by the shoulder into a sitting position.

"You're under arrest, miss," Gilbert stated as he kneeled to her side, "Now, let's see your face."

Despite her fidgeting, Gilbert got his fingers to the neck straps of her helmet and began undoing them. Once they were loosened, Gilbert pulled them out of the way before lifting the helmet. Blonde curls immediately fell free from their confines inside the helmet, and a fair face glared at him with familiar indigo eyes.

"Have we met before?" Gilbert immediately queried, "I could swear I recognize you from somewhere."

"I'm pretty sure I'd remember meeting an albino copper," the woman retorted with very little enthusiasm and a hint of sass.

Gilbert shrugged before standing back up. Noting that she didn't have any pockets on her riding outfit for any identification, he went over to the fallen motorcycle and opened the small trunk behind the seat. A wallet was inside, and Gilbert opened it to find her driver's licence clearly displayed.

"Dispatch, I've got the second motorcyclist's ID here," Gilbert paged on the radio, "Driver's licence 8172349, last name Williams, given names Madeline Aurelle."

As Gilbert finished his transmission, a couple police cars immediately pulled up, alongside an ambulance that immediately went to his crashed vehicle to help Lars out. The officers climbed out of their vehicles, and quickly approached Gilbert and his captive.

"Take her in, I've already given dispatch her ID," Gilbert instructed.

He watched curiously as the officers forced Madeline onto her feet, and he didn't miss the distinct glare she sent his way as she was led off. Gilbert watched suspiciously as she was put into the car, leaving his line of sight.

He had definitely met her somewhere before, Gilbert was certain of it.


	25. Chapter 25

Natalya leaned against the wall, unfortunately accustomed to the police holding her in custody longer than necessary.

The two blondes had parked themselves at opposite ends of the communal holding cell, sitting peacefully and sneaking in cat-naps while they could. Although Natalya hadn't bothered with it, Madeline convinced the guard to allow her a phone call in the middle of the night. Natalya did hear Maddie drop her name in the conversation, but nothing else was clearly heard. The phone call obviously paid off, since the other blonde was released on bail just a little while ago.

Natalya already understood that she wouldn't be getting the same treatment. It's been this way for just over three years now. Whenever she or Katerina were involved with the police on any matter, they'd always be detained overnight so that they could try to question them about Ivan. Of course, whoever was in charge of these interrogations never showed their face, and kept giving the task to interns that didn't seem to know a damn thing about the case.

Natalya's thoughts were interrupted as an officer banged their baton against the cell bars.

"Arlovskaya, come on out," the officer ordered, "You're being released on bail."

"What?" Natalya gasped as she stood up, "Already?"

"You're welcome to stay longer if you'd like," the police officer offered.

"No it's fine," Natalya declined as she left the cell, "I wasn't expecting to be released so early, that's all."

"Well, your paperwork went through, and a friend of yours just paid your bail," the officer informed her.

Natalya tried to make sense of it as the officer led her through the hallways, but she just couldn't. They're already releasing her, without asking a single question about last night, let alone about Ivan? Did they finally clear her name on the case?

They passed through a doorway into a waiting room that had only one other occupant. Natalya couldn't see more than the person's short curly brown hair, since they were facing away from her to look at posters on the wall. She wasn't given the chance to ask who it was either, as the officer directed her to the counter instead. The receptionist started spewing legalities that Natalya ignored, since it was essentially a verbal repeat of what was on her copy of the release papers. She signed the appropriate forms before her cellphone, wallet and keys were returned to her.

"That's everything, Ms. Arlovskaya," the receptionist told Natalya, before looking past her at the other person, "Mr. Ramirez, you're free to take Ms. Arlovskaya now."

"Thank you, officer, have yourself a lovely day," the man replied in a very familiar voice, as he tugged on Natalya's elbow to get her to move, "Come along, Natalya."

As she was pulled out of the room, Natalya was finally able to look the man in the face, and attempted to control her shock and anger while focusing on her direction. The moment they weren't being watched by the receptionist anymore, she grabbed his hand and tore it from her elbow.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Natalya snarled.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Antonio remarked, "You should be happy, I just bailed you out of jail."

"But how did you bail me out?" she asked.

"Your bail papers were organized, and I got the cash together," Antonio explained with noticeable sass, "I walked in and flirted with that lovely receptionist while she pushed the rest of it through, and now we're strolling out of the building. It was far too easy, really."

"How did you know I was here?" Natalya drilled, "And how did you know how much my bail would be?"

"Maddie called me in the middle of the night, she told me that you were both arrested," Antonio disclosed, "As for your bail, Toris got me that information when paying hers."

"Wait, so Toris bailed out Maddie, and you bailed me out?" Natalya checked, "How the hell did you both manage to get in here without being arrested on the spot?"

"Oh, we have our tricks, that's for sure," Antonio affirmed as he grabbed her elbow again, "That will have to wait a minute, though, we've been spotted."

Natalya looked forward to see a policewoman with short wavy brown hair stopping them in the middle of the main reception hall, just before the doors to the outside world.

"Pardon the interruption, Ms. Arlovskaya," the officer addressed, "I thought Gilbert would be interrogating you this afternoon. What are you doing outside your cell?"

"I was just released," Natalya claimed, handing her papers to the officer while giving Antonio the subtlest evil glare she could manage.

"Approved by Gilbert and Lars?" Natalya could hear the officer mutter as she read the documents, "He must have been better than expected, thank goodness."

The officer's eyes rose from the paper to give Antonio a glance, before looking back at the paper with pointed eyebrows.

"And you are Mr. Ramirez?" she asked.

"Yes I am, senora," Antonio confirmed, "Is there a problem?"

"May I see some ID please?" the officer requested, "I just want to double-check."

"Oh yes, of course," Antonio obeyed, pulling his wallet out of his back pocket and handing over his ID.

Natalya froze on the spot, despite her best attempts to hide her fear. She knew they were about to be caught. The officer would spot that his name was a fake, he'd be arrested on the spot, and Natalya would be locked up at the nefarious trio's unwilling accomplice!

After a moment of close inspection, the officer handed back the ID and paperwork.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Ramirez, you look like someone we've been searching for," the officer apologized, much to Natalya's surprise, "The paperwork appears to be in order, Ms. Arlovskaya is free to leave."

"Thank you for your due diligence, officer," Antonio said, pulling Natalya along, "Have a lovely day."

The pair strolled past the officer and out the main entrance, and once Natalya was standing in the sunshine, she snapped.

"How the fuck did you just do that?" she scolded, "How did she not recognize you?"

"This type of fake ID is database-proof," Antonio elaborated, handing her the piece of ID he showed the officer, "Even if they enter the profile number in their databases, they only get the record of 'Jose Antonio Ramirez', a law-abiding citizen that has never done anything wrong."

"So this is your trick for getting past them?" Natalya probed, inspecting the ID closely, "Does Toris have one too?"

"Toris has a criminal record almost as bad as mine," Antonio pointed out, "Do you really think we'd send him in there to pick up Maddie without one?"

"How did you get these?" Natalya inquired as she handed it back.

"Your brother's expertise has served us well since we first ran away," Antonio divulged, "It helps having one of JCI's top software engineers on our side."

Antonio led her to a small black car that was parked along the street, and Natalya climbed into the passenger seat while Antonio went around the other side. She already had her own door shut and seatbelt on as Antonio climbed into the driver seat.

"So, where can I take you this lovely morning?" Antonio offered as he shut his door and reached for his seatbelt.

"There's a skytrain station three blocks away," Natalya bluntly informed, "You can drop me off there."

"Is that all?" Antonio whined as he started up the vehicle, "I could easily take you all the way home."

"Only if you let me speak to Mathilda in person first," Natalya declared, giving the Spaniard a challenging look as he pulled the vehicle out onto the street.

"I suppose that puts us at an impasse," Antonio chuckled as he merged his speed to match the traffic.

"So it would seem," Natalya mused, watching the police department disappear from her sight through the windows, "You owe me a clue, then, at the very least."

"Well, look who's being the selfish one now," Antonio commented, "I just paid your bail, how do I still owe you anything?"

"Katerina and I have been deliberately staying away from you boys since you ran away," Natalya explained, still watching the streets as the traffic allowed them to breeze on through, "Once they realize you paid my bail, I'll be labelled as an accomplice. My record will never be cleared after this."

"Believe me, your bail payment will be the least of their concerns," Antonio pledged.

"And what exactly does that mean?" Natalya asked, finally turning to glare at Antonio again, "How is having you pay my bail not so important?"

He didn't answer, turning the steering wheel instead to pull up along the sidewalk at the skytrain station, before shifting into park and letting the door automatically unlock itself.

"Here's the skytrain station, out you get," Antonio stated, "I'll give your regards to Ivan and Mathilda."

Natalya glared at him as she opened the door and pulled herself out of the vehicle. Before shutting the door and letting him drive off, however, she leaned in and glared at him again.

"You still haven't answered my question," she reminded, "Why do you think the bail payment is not so important?"

"That lovely officer nearly had it figured out too," Antonio hinted, "Lieutenant Van Ryn is still in the hospital, and Sergeant Bielschmidt has the morning off."

With that last comment, Antonio reached over and pulled the door shut. As Natalya backed away from the vehicle, she could see the smirk on Antonio's face as he drove off. Once his vehicle disappeared into the traffic, Natalya turned and went towards the skytrain station, pulling her phone out of her pocket. Knowing that she would already have to report on how she got out of jail earlier than expected, she turned on the phone and texted her safeword to Lovino.

Once the message was sent, she found a bench inside the station and sat down, before looking a little more closely at her paperwork. The approval signature from Sergeant Gilbert Bielschmidt had a timestamp of 8:01am, while that of Lieutenant Lars Van Ryn was timed for 8:02. If Van Ryn was still in the hospital, and Bielschmidt wasn't supposed to be there yet...

Her phone beeped, and she saw that Lovino had replied with his safeword. She immediately called the number, and it was answered on the first ring.

"How the fuck are you already out of jail?" Lovino demanded without greeting.

"Antonio, Ivan and Toris, that's how," Natalya declared, "Antonio paid my bail, Toris paid Maddie's, and they forged the paperwork to make it happen!"


	26. Chapter 26

The elevator door opened, and Gilbert led the way out onto the office floor of the police department, groaning a bit at the bright fluorescent lights.

"Are you okay?" Ludwig asked, coming off the elevator after him.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Gilbert assured, "The lighting in my office is dimmer, thank god."

"You go talk to Roderich while I get you some coffee," Ludwig said, before heading off left towards the break room.

Gilbert focused more on the ground as he wheeled around the cubicles, trying to avoid looking up at the bright lights again. He quietly gave small waves to those who tried to greet him on his way by, not really in the mood to tell anyone why he wasn't resting at home after being in a car crash only 15 hours ago.

Roderich was already standing at his office door watching him approach, so Gilbert nodded gently in thanks before letting himself in. He immediately sat down in the guest chair by Roderich's desk, relaxing as the soft landing into the leather cushions. The relief combined with Roderich shutting the door, allowing for quiet in the office.

"How are you feeling, Gilbert?" Roderich queried, "If you think you would be better off in bed, feel free to say so."

"I think I'll do fine in my office with the lights dimmed and the door shut," Gilbert promised, "Anything more than that could be trouble. Ludwig won't even let me drive today, he'll pick me up when I say I'm done."

"As I said on the phone, I am sorry I had to call you in after giving the day off to rest," Roderich repeated, "However, given the circumstances that arose this morning, I do need you to take a look at what happened. Once you've done what you can on this, you may go home."

"I'll see how I fare," Gilbert accepted, "What is the situation?"

"The two motorcyclists you apprehended last night were released on bail this morning," Roderich explained, handing over some loose documents, "Your name is all over these, and the approval came from Lars, despite neither of you having the capacity to process any paperwork this morning."

Gilbert scanned through the two papers, noting quickly that they were bail release forms for Madeline Aurelle Williams and Natalya Maria Arlovskaya. The authorizations at the bottom were electronically signed by Sergeant Gilbert Bielschmidt and Lieutenant Lars Van Ryn at 8:00 in the morning.

"This is impossible," Gilbert denied, "Ludwig didn't try waking me up until 9:30!"

"That's why I asked you on the phone if you had any access to the database at home," Roderich elaborated, "These two bails appear to have been forged, and it wasn't spotted until after the girls had left the building. Bella had stopped Ms. Arlovskaya on the way out, and saw the signatures at the bottom of the page. When she came upstairs and discovered that you weren't here and Lars was still in the hospital, she immediately reported to me."

"Good girl, Bella," Gilbert commented, "Were these girls interrogated before release?"

"They weren't, Bella was supposed to fill in for you this afternoon," Roderich said, picking up a pair of files to hand over, "She is now working with Lenka downstairs to find as much evidence for the breakout as they can. I need you to go over these files and see what you can figure out about Ms. Williams and Ms. Arlovskaya, along with why they were broken out."

"I can definitely do that," Gilbert accepted, noticing the difference in the sizes of the two files, "One of these files is definitely fuller, isn't it?"

"Natalya Arlovskaya has been on our radar for some time," Roderich hinted as Gilbert took the files, "Once you see why, you'll understand why I need you on this case."

Gilbert felt his eyebrow raise in curiosity, but nodded in understanding before rising from his chair.

"I'll let you know what I figure out," Gilbert confirmed, before turning to leave the office.

He turned the doorknob and opened the door to the office floor, groaning slightly as the bright lights and noise hit him again. He shuffled further down the small passage alongside the cubicles, giving small waves to his coworkers as they greeted him. When he finally reached his own office at the end of the hall, he was relieved to see that the lights were on, and Ludwig was already inside placing a cup of coffee on his desk.

"Well, what does Roderich have for you to do?" Ludwig inquired, "Not anything physical, I should hope?"

"I need to see what I can find out about the two motorcyclists we arrested last night," Gilbert explained, "Their paperwork was forged this morning, and they both got released on bail."

"Their bail paperwork was forged?" Ludwig asked, "How is that even possible?"

"Bella and Lenka are figuring out how it happened," Gilbert disclosed, "I need to try and find why these two girls specifically were bailed out. I only need to stay as long as I am able to work, I'll give you a call when I'm done."

"That sounds good to me," Ludwig said as he left the office, "Just don't overexert yourself now."

"Don't worry, Luddy, I won't."

As Ludwig shut the door on his way out, Gilbert sat down at his desk and turned on his computer. While the system started itself up, he opened the first folder, looking at the papers on the arrest of Madeline Williams. Her records were clean, and it was her first arrest, so despite the charges from last night, she would've likely made bail anyways. After borrowing a phone from Eduard to call a friend named 'Toni', a man named Alexander Toris Rasmussen was put on record as having paid her bail. The paperwork from the holding facility claims he also had a clean record. Aside from the fact that Gilbert thought he recognized her, there weren't any obvious problems there.

He put Madeline's folder aside for the moment, and opened up Natalya Arlovskaya's very thick folder. Along with last night's charges, she had quite the number of red flags on her file, although most appeared to be suspicions of associations rather than suspected crimes.

"Well, aren't you a curious one," Gilbert muttered, looking at her mugshot, "Who do they think you're associating your pretty face with?"

He turned a few pages, before a name change record was spotted. Only a couple years ago, she had changed her last name from Braginskaya to Arlovskaya. Gilbert looked a little deeper into the file, and uncovered why she would've changed that name.

Ivan Braginski, the Russian researcher that ran away with Mathilda Jones, was Natalya's brother.

"Well, that explains a lot, Natalya Braginskaya," Gilbert chuckled, looking at her picture again, "They want whatever leads you can provide on your brother. You even resemble him, although you're much nicer to look at."

Gilbert inspected her release record again, noting that her bail of $5,000 was fully paid in cash at 10:45 in the morning. Her bail papers were forged and posted with a timestamp of 8:03 in the morning, and there was no record of her asking for a phone call. Whoever got her out couldn't have had the time to find out about the bail and visit a bank to withdraw the cash.

He loaded the database program on his computer, and looked at her release papers for the identity of the man who paid her bail. Once the ID was typed in, the file of Jose Antonio Ramirez came up on the screen. It was complete with an ID picture that gave away the truth, despite the pair of glasses added to the person for added disguise.

"Antonio Fernandez Carriedo," Gilbert snarled, "You god-damned sneaky bastard."

Precisely at that moment, his thoughts were interrupted by a knock to the door. He looked up to see Bella standing there, and waved her in. She pulled the door open and entered the office, placing some full-page pictures on his desk.

"Sorry for disturbing you, but Roderich said you might want to see these," Bella explained, "They are security camera captures of our two girls walking out this morning, each with the men who paid their bails."

Gilbert immediately reached for the pictures and inspected the top one, noticing immediately that it matched what he had just figured out. It showed Antonio escorting Natalya out of the reception area, with a smile on his face and an angry glare on Natalya's.

"She certainly doesn't look too happy to see him," Gilbert noted, "At least she might have that in her favour."

"Who is he, Gilbert?" Bella inquired, "I thought he looked like one of the Vargas mob members we were trying to catch, but his ID didn't match any of the names we're looking for."

"I just ran his ID in the database, it's a blatant fake," Gilbert explained, "His real name is Antonio Fernandez Carriedo, he helped double-cross the Vargas group last year."

"He's one of the fugitives, isn't he?" Bella checked, "Could the man in this other picture also be on our list?"

Gilbert put down the picture of Natalya and Antonio, and looked at the second picture instead. This one had Madeline Williams being escorted out of the building by another very familiar face.

"You've got to be kidding me," Gilbert grumbled at the man in the picture, "How the fuck did you slip past us?"

"Gilbert, who is he?" Bella demanded.

"His name is Toris Laurinaitis," Gilbert revealed, "We had arrested him the day of the busts last year, but he escaped from the crash that killed Sadiq, Heracles and Tomas."

"He's the prisoner that disappeared?" Bella reiterated, "How wasn't he spotted when paying bail this morning?"

"He also used a fake ID, with the name Alexander Toris Rasmussen," Gilbert declared, looking at Madeline's bail paperwork again to confirm the name, "Bella, I need you to visit Roderich for me, and tell him that Antonio and Toris used fake IDs to get the girls out this morning."

"Right away, Gilbert."

Bella promptly turned and left the office, closing the door shut behind her. Gilbert spread the two images across his desk, with Madeline's folder to the left and Natalya's to the right.

"You assholes must think you're so fucking clever," Gilbert criticized, "Creating ID with fake profiles, forging the release papers, paying the bail on these two girls, and strolling in and out of here like you own the place. I certainly wouldn't put it past you to pull this off, getting Ivan's sister out of jail -"

Gilbert paused in his monologue as he realized something. It made sense that they would specifically bail out Natalya, but anyone else in there would have easily been helped by a full-scale mass jailbreak. So why would they also specifically break out Madeline Williams? Since Natalya did not use a phone call, it would make sense that Madeline's call was to Antonio, putting him in the loop about having to pay bail on both of them. If that was so, then was Madeline's breakout the primary objective, and Natalya's only the secondary?

That was when the light bulb turned on.

Gilbert immediately went to the hard drive folders on his computer, and located the file he needed. The file opened up, and Gilbert put it at a good spot before holding Madeline's mugshot up to the screen and comparing the two images. Once he realized his suspicion was true, he could only snap out of his shock to mutter one little phrase.

"Holy fucking shit."


	27. Chapter 27

After pulling into a parking spot, the man shut off the motorcycle and got off it. After setting it to stay where it was, he removed his helmet as he swiftly marched to the main entrance of the artsy apartment building, a few neighbourhoods over from the cafe. His anger hadn't subsided at all during his ride, so when he reached the door, he spotted the button for suite 318 and began repeatedly hitting it.

 _Buzz buzz buzz buzz buzz buzz buzz buzz buzz buzz buzz_

Finally, it was answered.

"Hello, who is it?" the occupant greeted over the intercom.

"It's Lovino," he declared, "Let me in, Maddie, we need to talk."

Madeline did not speak another word as another buzzer sounded, accompanied by a click that unlocked the door. Lovino immediately grabbed the handle and swung the door open, strode through the lobby, stopped at the elevator door, and started repeatedly hitting the button to summon it. Lovino shook his head as he noticed his impatience, yet another sign of the anger bursting out to the surface.

The doors finally opened up, and Lovino rolled his eyes and stepped back as a hipster couple emerged from within. They gave him a concerning look as they walked by, but Lovino ignored it in favour of getting onto the elevator, selecting the third floor, and hitting the close button to shut the doors. As the elevator began to move, Lovino's mind raced with all the things he needed to talk to Madeline about, along with noticing that his foot was now tapping the ground incessantly.

The elevator stopped moving, and the doors opened to reveal the third floor hallway. Lovino marched down the hallway, stopping near the end at a door numbered 318 before knocking on it repeatedly, not stopping until it was opened by the woman on the other side.

Madeline didn't say a word as she pulled the door all the way open, silently allowing Lovino to enter the suite. He went to the far side of the kitchen counter, sat on a barstool, and glared at the blonde as she closed the door and followed him into the kitchen

"You might as well start talking," Madeline suggested, choosing to stand opposite him at the other side of the counter, "Your fury is more than obvious."

"Well, no shit, Sherlock," Lovino snarled back, "Perhaps the arrest was an understandable setback, but having Antonio fucking Esposito bail you girls out of jail is straight-out treason!"

"Katya's the only one at the cafe who might have been able to pay our bails without also getting arrested on the spot," Madeline justified, "I took a chance on someone they might not be watching for."

"You took a chance on a group of fucking traitors!" Lovino rampaged, "Antonio fucking betrayed us, Madeline! He drugged me and Feli, he killed Gupta, and he gave the police the location of the Vargas base! How long have you been in contact with Antonio behind our backs?"

"I had always been neutral, and you weren't even back in the picture yet to start with," Madeline defended, "I bumped into him back in January, we caught up and exchanged information. I even worked a couple side jobs with him, Ivan and Toris to help bring in some cash. Today was the first time I've had to see any of those boys in person since I started working at the cafe. And before you ask, I have not done any work for them since the spring."

"And what about the forged bail paperwork Natalya told me about?" Lovino asked, "Do you know anything about that?"

"All I know is that I got released with no harm done," Madeline claimed, "I cannot verify how they managed to post my bail in the first place."

Lovino took a deep breath and processed what Madeline said. Despite his frustration, he could see that Madeline had a valid explanation for everything he drilled her about, and that he might be able to let her off the hook a bit.

Before he could say anything though, someone knocked at the door.

"Madeline, open up," a deep manly voice projected through the cracks, and Lovino noticed Madeline's face suddenly shift into alarm mode, "Your neighbour told me you're here, we need to talk."

"Just a second, I'll be right there," Madeline called back, before turning to quietly hiss at Lovino, "Hide in the bedroom, he can't know you're here!"

"Who's at the door, Madeline?" Lovino demanded as she circled the counter and grabbed his arm, "Why are you trying to hide me?"

"Shut up and be quiet," Madeline hissed, fretting at the continued heavy knocking at the front door, "I'll explain after I've convinced him to leave."

Madeline pulled Lovino towards the bedroom, and shoved him in before closing the door. After Lovino steadied himself to avoid falling onto her bed, he approached the door and gently opened it an inch, allowing him to see Madeline letting a tall muscular blond into the suite. Much like Lovino had done a few minutes earlier, the man stormed into the room, circled the counter, and sat on the barstool.

"What's wrong, Ludwig?" Madeline asked with concern as she followed him into the kitchen, "You look upset."

"Of course I'm upset, Madeline," Lovino heard Ludwig bark, "My girlfriend got herself arrested, for fuck's sake!"

"Girlfriend?" Lovino muttered to himself. Madeline had mentioned around the cafe that she was dating someone, was this the guy?

"It's not as bad as it sounds, Luddy," Madeline assured, "It was just a careless motor vehicle accident."

"Don't pull that bullshit on me," Ludwig scolded, "I was there in the middle of the pursuit, Maddie! My brother arrested you, god damn it! Not to mention that you almost killed him!"

Lovino frowned. Was Maddie's boyfriend one of the officers involved in that chase last night? And who was this brother of his that arrested Maddie?

"It was not my intention to kill your brother, Ludwig," Madeline defended, "I merely wanted to get him off my tail."

"How the fuck am I supposed to introduce you to him now?" Ludwig berated, "Gilbert's been wanting to meet you since we started dating, now he'll arrest you on the spot if that ever happens! Not to mention what will become of me when he discovers how I'm connected to you!"

Lovino's jaw dropped at that. Was Sergeant Gilbert Bielschmidt this scumbag's brother?

Having heard enough, Lovino immediately pulled open the bedroom door and emerged from his hiding spot. Madeline merely sighed and looked skyward as he approached, while her visitor looked at him like Lovino had broken into the place.

"Who the fuck are you?" Ludwig asked, "What were you doing in her bedroom?"

"What a coincidence, I was wondering exactly who you are too," Lovino pointed out, "I'm one of Madeline's friends, and I have a few concerns over what I've just heard from you. First of all, are you this mysterious boyfriend of Maddie's?"

"Yes, I am," Ludwig answered, "And you are?"

"Secondly, are you a police officer?" Lovino continued without answering back.

"Yes, I am a Sergeant for the local police department," Ludwig replied, "Aren't you going to tell me who you are?"

"One more question," Lovino kept going, "Are you related in any way to that albino bastard Gilbert Bielschmidt?"

"He is my older brother," Ludwig revealed, before turning back to Madeline, "Madeline, who the hell is he?"

"How rude of me, let me introduce myself," Lovino took over again, "My name is Lovino Vargas, your brother arrested me once last year."

"Vargas?" Ludwig repeated, "You don't mean, as in -"

"As in Romulus Vargas, my grandfather?" Lovino finished off for him, "Or as in the Vargas mob, which was shut down by your brother last year? Or as in the Vargas twins, who are still fugitives of the law? If that's what you mean, then abso-fucking-lutely yes, that Vargas."

"And why are you here in my girlfriend's apartment?" Ludwig demanded.

"Your girlfriend is a full-on criminal hired gun," Lovino replied, "Before the mobs were busted last year, she sold them her services as a neutral freelancer. Now that there's nobody else left, she works with me."

"Maddie, please tell me he's lying," Ludwig pleaded, "You're not really a mobster, are you?"

"I am, Ludwig," Madeline calmly replied, "I am a formerly-neutral freelance hired gun."

"A hired gun that is also dating a police officer, no less," Lovino added before turning to chide the woman, "How the fuck are you pulling this off, Maddie?"

"Why does it matter?" Madeline countered, "Can I not date who I want to date?"

"Not when your date's brother is that albino copper!" Lovino reprimanded, "One false move by you with his little brother, and Gilbert Bielschmidt will find the rest of us! You're going to ruin us all with this, Maddie!"

"I will not be that careless, Lovino," Madeline swore, "I have everything under control - Ludwig, who are you calling?"

Lovino spun to see that Ludwig had left his seat, and was standing a little further away, raising a cellphone to his ear. Before Ludwig could answer her, Lovino reached into his jacket, pulled out his gun, and pointed it at the officer.

"Hang up the call, and hand the phone over," Lovino sternly ordered, "Don't make me kill you."

After a brief moment of the two men glaring at each other, Ludwig lowered the phone and pressed a button, before handing it over.

"Consider yourself lucky I'm not armed right now," Ludwig warned, "If I were on duty, I could arrest you on the spot."

"But you sure tried to have that happen anyways, didn't you," Lovino remarked as he looked at the information on the cellphone screen, "Is it your gut instinct to call your big brother, when you have two criminals in the same room as you? It's so clear what control Madeline really has over this bullshit."

"Lovino, put away the gun," Madeline requested, "Let's talk this through."

"I'm the only one allowed to talk right now, and here is what is going to happen next," Lovino demanded, still pointing the gun at Ludwig and staring at him, "The two of you are going to immediately end your relationship, Ludwig, and you are going to walk out of this building. You are not going to tell a soul that you ever met either of us, you will not say how to find us, and you will not turn us in. If anyone asks about your relationship with Madeline, you will only say that the two of you fell apart and couldn't make it work. If you betray us, or if you refuse these terms, I will hunt you down and put a bullet in your head. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"

"Crystal clear," Ludwig confirmed, staying put where he stood.

"Then why aren't you leaving?" Lovino demanded.

"I don't want to break up with Madeline," Ludwig declared, "I - I love her."

"You love her?" Lovino repeated incredulously, "You just found out that your girlfriend is a criminal, and that your brother will arrest her on the spot if they ever meet, and you still love her?"

"Yes, I do," Ludwig stuttered.

Lovino raised his eyebrow at the proclamation, but his frown still dominated his face. He turned to look back at Madeline, keeping the gun pointed at Ludwig, and observed that she was possibly more surprised than anyone.

"You had no idea he likes you this much, did you?" Lovino calmly checked.

"Not a clue," Madeline denied, shaking her head.

"Dio mio, how did I become so sentimental," Lovino huffed as he rolled his eyes skyward, before looking back at Ludwig and lowering the gun, "It looks like we need a new plan of action, if you intend to remain so head over heels for Madeline. I will allow you to continue dating her, under the condition that you work for us as a double agent. You do not tell the police anything about us, and you keep them off our tails. If we're working on a heist while you're working, you'll sabotage their efforts as carefully as you can. If you're not working, I expect you to at least volunteer to help us. If the police ever arrest you, you will not tell them anything about us. When and if you break up with Madeline, the previous rules apply: you get out of her life, and don't say a fucking word to anyone. Once again, if you betray us, I will put a bullet in your head. Does that all work for you?"

After a moment of thought, Ludwig nodded.

"Yes, I can abide by that."

"Good, then welcome to the Vargas gang," Lovino acknowledged as he turned to leave, "Madeline, give him some orientation to the job, I'll warn the others that we have a copper working for us."

Lovino spun on his heels and marched for the front door, smirking at the stunned silence behind him. Without having to turn back and say anything else, he swiftly pulled open the door and entered the empty hallway, hearing some chattering start up on the other side as soon as he shut the door behind him.

As he calmly strode back to the elevator, Lovino ran through what had happened in his mind. While it had been harder to recruit police officers to cooperate with mobs in this town, he had heard of examples from around the world where there was an enormous benefit to the arrangement. Secrecy and confidentiality will be major concerns, but Ludwig seemed trustworthy enough at a first meeting.

As Lovino hit the elevator button, though, he frowned in confusion as he realized what had not been witnessed in the situation Perhaps she was hesitant to reply, or too shocked to properly do it, but the question remained.

Did Madeline ever properly respond to that declaration of love?

* * *

 ** _Author's Note_**

 ** _I see you all want to know what Gilbert knows, but you're going to have to wait for all the clues to continue piling up. Best be warned, though, I will try to steer you off the road….._**


	28. Chapter 28

Feliks gave the bag of icing another twist, before making another flower at the corner of the cake. He wanted to start adding the needed text, but the others could not come to a consensus on the ordering.

"Katerina's name should be first," Madeline argued, "It sounds better when it's alphabetical."

"No, Yao's name should be first," Lovino countered, "It's traditional for the man's name to come first."

"They had a city hall wedding with the bride being 8 weeks pregnant," Natalya opposed, "Their marriage is hardly traditional in the first place."

"Well, technically, they are still trying to follow tradition," Ludwig pointed out, "She is taking his last name, after all."

Feliks rolled his eyes at the group, and looked at the cake again. Once Katerina discovered her pregnancy, she and Yao decided to finally tie the knot, choosing August 29th as their wedding date with a simple ceremony at city hall. Everyone else still had to work the Friday shift, but the cafe kitchen also included the party preparation for when they closed up shop early at 8:00. It was now 7:55, and Feliks was trying to finish up the cake, but had made the terrible mistake of asking for advice. Now he had to endure listening to a guys versus girls debate on the two options.

Should it say congratulations to Yao & Katerina, or to Katerina & Yao?

Feliks glanced through the serving window at Madeline and Ludwig, who were on the dining side of the cafe because Maddie was on the closing shift. They were all rather surprised when Lovino revealed that Madeline's boyfriend was a police officer, and it was even more shocking when they found out that the cop actually agreed to work for them as a double agent. Natalya was probably the most alarmed when they finally met the man, since he was the same officer that arrested her a few weeks ago, but they quickly overcame the awkward situation.

The group was interrupted by the clicking of high heels entering the kitchen from the back, and turned to see the lovely bride walking in. Katerina looked drop-dead gorgeous in her white shimmering cocktail dress that ended at the knees, and it accentuated her fantastic figure that has yet to show any sign of pregnancy. Aside from the gorgeous white dress and sparkling white shoes, she still kept her hair and makeup as simple as possible, focusing on her natural beauty.

"What's going on in here?" she asked, "What are you all fussing over?"

"I made the mistake of asking for help with your cake," Feliks explained, "We're putting both your names on it, but can't agree on which name should be first."

"Oh, so it's either 'Yao & Katerina' or 'Katerina & Yao', is it?" Katerina judged, "Well, Yao won't give a rat's ass, and I haven't used my bridezilla rights yet, so put my name first."

"Well, you are the bride," Feliks chuckled, and turned to start writing her name on the cake while the others giggled and groaned at the decision.

"As for the rest of you, get back to work, I still see some dirty dishes," Katerina ordered as she strolled past through to the main dining area, "Madeline, your boyfriend doesn't work for me, so why is he behind my counter?"

"I'm sorry, Katerina," Feliks heard Ludwig answer, "I got involved in the cake debate."

Just as Feliks finished writing the first name, the small bell rang at the front door, and Feliks rolled his eyes. He had a feeling there would be a last-minute customer, and that he'd have to move the cake so that the others could still serve some food.

While he expected a customer, he didn't expect Katerina to start yelling.

"Oh, hell no! Get out of my restaurant, you fucking bastard!"

Feliks tried to lean over to look through the serving window at whoever had come into the restaurant and alarmed Katerina, but couldn't get far enough without having to start mushing the cake. As he stood back up properly again, Natalya came to his side and leaned over the counter at an angle where she wouldn't wreck his cake. Feliks saw her face light up in alarm, before she turned towards Lovino.

"It's Antonio," she reported, before reaching below the counter and grabbing the gun that was taped underneath.

Feliks pressed himself against the counter as Natalya stormed by, before shuffling over to where she had stood to look through the window. That's when he saw the Vargas clan's former bodyguard arguing with Katerina at the front of the restaurant. Madeline and Ludwig cautiously stood at attention by the counter, while Lovino and Natalya stormed through the door moments later to take over for Katya.

"What the fuck are you doing here, you traitor?" Lovino immediately demanded, aiming his gun at the Spaniard.

"How lovely to see you too, Lovi," Antonio greeted, "I see you've done well enough for yourself since I last saw you."

"Since you betrayed us, you mean," Lovino amended, "You drugged me and Feli, you killed Gupta, and you gave our base's location to the police!"

"You've got that all wrong," Antonio denied, raising his hands in surrender, "I never told the police where the base was, and Gupta said goodbye to me on the way out."

"And the drugging?" Natalya drilled.

"I will admit, that part was me," Antonio confirmed, "I was about to start my new job, but your grandfather had forced me to spend the night at the base. My associates advised me to get out of there as quickly as I could after work, by any means necessary, so the sleeping serum was my only option to slip past you boys. I am sorry I had to drug you, but I did not do any of the other things you accuse me of."

After a moment of silence and glaring, Lovino huffed and lowered his gun, earning a confused look from Natalya at his side.

"As ridiculous as all that sounds, it's unfortunately plausible," Lovino determined, "Still, you haven't explained why the fuck you thought you could just walk in here."

"I'm here to talk business," Antonio declared, "We want your help with a heist."

"And why the fuck should I work with you?" Lovino demanded.

"Or old time's sake, maybe?" Antonio suggested, "Or how about the millions of dollars we want to steal and are willing to split? This could be the last heist you ever need to pull, you'd all be able to retire from your criminal careers and live comfortably the rest of your lives."

"That sounds way too promising to be feasible," Natalya criticized.

"I agree with her," Lovino added before continuing, "What exactly is your plan?"

"It's actually not my plan," Antonio corrected, "I'm just a subordinate on this one, my colleagues are waiting outside your back door."

Just as Antonio said that, the receiving area doorbell rang at the back of the restaurant.

"Your colleagues?" Katerina inquired.

Antonio nodded, as Lovino leaned past Natalya to look through the serving window.

"Feliks, go answer the door," Lovino commanded, "See who this asshole brought with him."

Feliks nodded back to Lovino, before hopping off his counter and heading to the back of the kitchen. When he reached the hallway, he had to pause as Elizaveta rushed past at the bottom of the stairs. Feliks followed as she went to open the door wide before slamming it shut, spinning around, and putting her back to the door with an alarmed expression on her face.

"It's Ivan and Toris," she revealed, "What are they doing here?"

"Are they armed?" Feliks asked as he approached and reached past her for the door handle.

"No, they weren't," Elizaveta told him, swatting his hand away from the door, "You're not letting them in, are you?"

Without answering, Feliks calmy pried Elizaveta off the back of the door, before reaching for the handle and turning it. He opened the door to find their two former colleagues waiting calmly outside, hands clearly visible and empty. Feliks gave the blond a quick glance before focusing on the brunette and addressing him.

"I thought I told you to stay the fuck away from me."

"I am not here to intrude on what has become of your personal life, Feliks," Toris promised, "This is strictly business."

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Elizaveta demanded.

"We have a joint venture to propose," Ivan reported, "Now, are you just going to stand there and stare at us in suspicion, or will you let us in to talk?"

Feliks suddenly felt Elizaveta leave his side, and turned to watch as Lovino stood between his girlfriend and the door, attempting to push her back towards the stairs.

"Let them in, Feliks," Lovino ordered, before turning back to the alarmed woman, "Elizaveta, go get Feli and Yao from upstairs."

As the couple quietly talked to each other at the bottom of the stairs, Feliks pulled the door the rest of the way open, and put his back against the opposite wall as he held it wide open. Ivan and Toris walked up the steps and into the hallway, each nodding at Toris on their way by. As Feliks shut the door behind them, he saw Elizaveta running up the stairs while Lovino stood guard at the bottom, directing the two men into the kitchen. As Feliks followed them in, Lovino gave him a nod, reassuring him that they had control of the situation, before they heard Ivan's voice in the next room.

"Good evening, everyone," the Russian greeted, before turning to look at Katerina, "That is a lovely dress, is there a special occasion?"

"I got married today at city hall," Katerina bluntly replied, with noticeable irritation, "You're interrupting the setup for the reception."

"Ah, congratulations to you, then," Ivan praised, "Perhaps after this bit of business, we could stick around for a bit of the celebration."

"That is not a good idea," Katerina refused.

"I do suppose that is your call," Ivan acknowledged, "Might I at least shake the groom's hand, wherever he may be?"

"If he lets you," Katerina answered.

Ivan nodded, before turning to join Toris and Antonio at the back of the kitchen. Feliks shuffled along the side to stand by Madeline and Ludwig, who had entered the kitchen with Natalya and Katerina. Lovino paced along the middle aisle of the kitchen, watching the trio intently without saying a word.

Moments later, they heard footsteps marching down the stairs, before Elizaveta entered the kitchen and stood beside Feliks. Yao followed her in, and gave the unexpected trio a curious look as he crossed the room to stand between his wife and sister-in-law. Feliciano was the last to enter the kitchen, and froze in his spot when he saw who the guests were.

"What are they doing here?" Feliciano asked, glaring directly at Antonio.

"It's okay, Feliciano, I let them in," Lovino informed his brother, before turning to face the trio himself, "We're all here now, so what is this joint venture you fuckers are proposing?"

"Before we begin, may I point out that there is a police officer in our midst," Ivan observed, "I don't know what arrangement you have for his secrecy, but having him in the room when I describe this joint venture would allow him to compromise the mission."

"Ludwig is sworn to secrecy on his association to us," Madeline vouched, "Even if he tried to spill the beans about what you are plotting, he would also be forced to reveal us as well. If we can trust him to keep his mouth shut, then so can you. Now, get on with your proposal."

"If you insist, Madeline," Ivan accepted before addressing the group, "We want to pull off a bank heist. It's a little more complicated than usual, but it is certainly possible. We've already got the logistics planned out, all we need help with is emptying the cash vault."

"Which bank?" Lovino pried.

"The Bank of National Commerce, on 29th and Broadway," Ivan answered, prompting gasps and outbursts from almost everyone in the room.

"The biggest bank in the city?"

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

"This isn't a small venture, it's a suicide mission!"

"That bank keeps well over 100 million dollars in its vault on an average night," Toris pointed out once everyone had their moment to freak out, "More than enough for all of us to split and easily retire on."

"We will also be setting up remote access to the banking databases on a USB drive," Ivan added on, "That way, we can intercept wire payments as we please."

"They'll catch onto that very quickly," Katerina warned.

"Not if multiple international bank accounts are used to funnel the electronic funds," Antonio countered.

"And how exactly will you handle security at the bank?" Feliks cross-examined, "They'll have guards, alarms, security cameras, the works. Not to mention how you intend to create the remote connection to the database with all their cyber security."

"Ivan has already created a computer program that will do everything for him," Toris explained, "All he has to do is plug the pre-loaded USB into one of their computers and execute the program."

"Since when are you a computer expert, Ivan?" Elizaveta drilled, "You never shared that with us when you worked for Mikkel."

"I was a software engineer long before I met Mikkel," Ivan disclosed, "My position with Mikkel didn't require that expertise, he needed my brawn over my brain."

"How much of the cash do we get to keep?" Madeline inquired.

"You can take 45% of the cash," Antonio proposed, "We'll be keeping the rest."

"How do you guys deserve more than us?" Feliciano challenged, "We'll be seven strong versus you three, there's more of us to split it across!"

"We're the ones doing all the logistical work and planning," Toris justified, "All you have to do is pack the cash in the bags."

"You're also getting a USB drive that will allow you to wire yourselves millions as you please," Yao reminded, "If you're not going to give us that as well, we should be getting all the cash."

"Yao has a very good point there," Madeline supported, "If we also get a copy of the USB drive, we could split the cash more evenly."

"I do suppose a second USB could be made that night," Ivan remarked, "You've always had good judgment, Madeline, what would the adjusted cash split be?"

"All parties have valid points, but our group has the larger number of people to share across," Madeline analyzed, "In addition, while you may understand what is on the USB, we'll have to learn how to use it before we can make any wire transfers. We should be taking 60% of the cash with a copy of the USB drive."

"That sounds reasonable to me," Ivan agreed, "Does anyone have any other concerns to address?"

"What will happen if your plan fails?" Natalya criticized, "You're talking about the biggest bank in the city here, which will have the highest levels of security available to it. If any part of your logistics falls apart, and the police find out we were involved, we'll be hunted down as well."

"I will be disarming all the alarms, and shutting down all the cameras," Ivan explained, "Everything will be arranged so that they have no way to trace it back to any of us."

"We'll put it to a group vote then," Lovino took over, "All in favour of accepting this joint venture, raise your hand."

Feliks watched as everyone in the room hesitated for a moment, before Madeline took the initiative to raise her hand as the first vote. Feliciano followed her lead, with Elizaveta, Lovino and Yao raising their hands afterwards. As Lovino spun around the room to count the votes, Feliks rose his own hand at the last moment to be counted among the majority in favour.

"Hands down, everyone in favour," Lovino directed, "Now, who do we have against this venture?"

Natalya's hand immediately shot up against the venture, and Feliks noticed she was glaring heavily at Ivan and Antonio, likely already knowing that the venture would nonetheless be accepted.

"Thank you, Natalya, you may lower your hand," Lovino requested, "Ludwig and Katya, can I assume that your decisions not to vote are meant to be as abstaining?"

"Like Ivan said, my position as a double-agent compromises me," Ludwig explained, "Since I am the newest member of your group, and in a position where I could inadvertently cause trouble, I saw it best not to be involved in this decision."

"Thank you for your consideration, Ludwig," Lovino approved, "What about you, Katya?"

"You know damn well to keep me out of your mob business, Lovino," Katerina cautioned, "All my previous warnings to you still stand."

"It appears that we have a majority vote in favour then," Lovino summarized, offering his hand to Ivan, "We will accept your joint venture, then."

"That's wonderful," Ivan cheered, accepting Lovino's hand and shaking it, "We were planning for next Thursday night, if your group will be available that night."

"That can definitely work, it's not like any of us have anything happening on Thursdays," Lovino complied, before turning back to look at Ludwig, "Will you be on duty that night?"

"I will be working day shift on Thursday, and have the day off Friday," Ludwig disclosed, "I can be available to help that night, under the guise of being on a date with Madeline."

"That sounds good to me," Lovino assented, before turning back to Ivan, "We'll need to communicate somehow to arrange these plans before that night."

"Madeline can be our intermediary, if you don't mind," Ivan suggested, "We already have her cellphone number, and she has Antonio's."

"I suppose we can work with that," Lovino accepted, "Is that all we need to address at the moment? I think Katya wants you out the back door as quickly as possible."

"Yes, that is all we need for now," Ivan commented, before taking another look at Katya and Yao, "Before I leave, though, I do believe I requested to give Katerina's groom a congratulatory handshake."

"I see no problem with that," Yao allowed, stepping forward and offering his hand for Ivan to reach for.

"Congratulations on your marriage, my friend," Ivan lauded as he shook Yao's hand, "You take good care of Katerina now, and may the fates smile on your union."

"Thank you for your kind words," Yao acknowledged before ending the handshake.

Without another word, Ivan turned away from the couple and headed for the back hallway with Antonio and Toris, where Feliciano had gone ahead to open the outside door. The entire group stood in their spots silently, listening as the door slammed shut and Feliciano re-entered the kitchen.

"Did we really just agree to work with them, Lovino?" the Italian checked, breaking the silence, "I thought they were the last people on Earth we could trust."

"They're going to spin this on us some way," Natalya warned, "I could feel it in my bones the moment they showed up."

"We also had a majority vote in favour, so that's what we're going with," Lovino reinforced, "If we spot any mischief on their end during the heist, we'll back out immediately. Now, I believe the lovely bride here would rather be celebrating her wedding than watching us fret over our departed visitors, wouldn't she?"

"That is very true," Katerina replied, "Let's get everything cleaned up here, while Madeline and I close up the front. Feliks, that cake can head upstairs if you're done with it."

As everyone spurred back into action, Feliks went back over to the cake, picked up the bag of icing, and finally finishing the last bit of writing on it.


	29. Chapter 29

Antonio stood guard by the door to the cash count room, watching as Lovino's group opened the door to the vault.

The break-in had been executed perfectly so far, with not a single hiccup. Ivan had disconnected the outside lines before they went in, so no alarms were triggered and no security personnel were called to the scene. They had used a magnetic device to unlock the door without causing too much heavy damage to it, and now the group members were rushing in with duffle bags to load up the cash.

The Spaniard looked over to the computer, where Ivan was busy typing away at the keyboard. In addition to setting up the remote access and connecting the two USB devices to the system, the Russian also needed to complete shutting down all the security cameras before they could remove their black toques. Toris was assisting as well, having split off from the group a few minutes ago to access the server room.

Finally, Antonio glanced to his immediate left, where a masked woman was helping him guard the door to the room. Although her blonde hair was up in a bun underneath her toque, he knew it was Natalya from the way she kept glaring at him with her purple eyes.

"I'm all done up here," Toris paged on the boys' private communication channel, which Antonio was listening to through his earpiece, "Heading back down to you now."

Antonio raised his right hand to his head, mimicking a rubbing motion as his index finger pressed the button on the thumb of his glove to activate the microphone at his wrist.

"Sounds good, Toris," Antonio acknowledged, "How about you, Ivan?"

"Just a few more clicks," Ivan slowly muttered, "There we go, all done."

With that confirmation, Antonio pulled at the neck of his toque and removed it from his head. As he gave his hair a quick shake to feel the air against his head again, he noticed the alarmed looks from those around him.

"The cameras have been turned off," Antonio called out, "We can remove our toques now."

"I hope you're damn sure about that," Natalya muttered to his left as she followed suit and removed her toque.

Antonio glanced at the door to the vault, where Ludwig and Madeline were standing guard. Ludwig was slowly removing his toque, watching as his completely unmasked girlfriend passed on the news to those bagging cash in the vault. He began talking to her when she turned her attention back to him, and Antonio couldn't quite hear what they were discussing, but it appeared that Madeline was trying to reassure Ludwig that it was safe to show their faces.

A few moments later, Antonio saw Madeline move around Ludwig, as if to walk over to the door and speak to him, only for Ludwig to swiftly pull on her elbow and bring her back to him. After exchanging a few more words, Ludwig tilted her face towards his and planted his lips against hers. Antonio's eyebrow raised in curiosity, before he noticed the look from the Russian who had a front-row view of the kiss.

"Chill your quills, porcupine," Antonio quickly warned, brushing his hair back as he used the microphone again.

Ivan sent Antonio a quick glance, before returning to his work as Ludwig and Madeline ended the kiss. Relieved to see that diffuse so quickly, Antonio smirked as he glanced to his left, only for his small smile to quickly fade. Natalya's glare was bouncing back and forth between Ivan and the couple before noticing Antonio's gaze. Just as she opened her mouth to say something, Toris suddenly appeared in the doorway at her other side.

"I'm back," the Lithuanian reported, earning a startled look from Natalya, "How's everything else going?"

"It's all going swimmingly," Antonio quickly replied, "Why won't you stand guard here, while Natalya and I take watch outside?"

Before anyone could protest to his new plan, Antonio grabbed Natalya's elbow and gave her a tug. He quickly ushered her around Toris and through the doorway, into the empty hallway that connected to the rest of the bank. Allowing Natalya to go through first, Antonio gently slipped the door mostly shut behind him, and delicately pressed his index finger against his thumb in a holding position when she spun around to glare at him.

"Care to tell me what the hell that was?" Natalya demanded, "Why would my brother be so interested in Madeline and Ludwig kissing?"

"She's a criminal dating a police officer," Antonio justified, "Of course Ivan would be suspicious of what Ludwig is up to."

"Even so, why does this entire plan smell fishy?" Natalya continued, "How do I know that you aren't pulling us into a trap?"

"We are doing no such thing, Natalya, I guarantee it," Antonio swore, "We are behaving ourselves for once, so you should simply trust us."

"You expect me to just trust you, after everything you've put me and Katya through?" Natalya exclaimed, "My freedom is long gone, because of you fuckers! I can no longer leave the country, or do anything interesting with my life, and it's all thanks to you idiots and that damn bitch!"

"Believe me, Natalya, Ivan never intended for you girls to get dragged into this," Antonio defended, "As a matter of fact, there's someone else you can blame for that."

"Trying to shift the blame, are you?" Natalya noted, "Who could possibly be more responsible for this than you bastards?"

"The man who's kept your records flagged for so long," Antonio explained, "We've looked into it, you know. For other criminals, their family members are only ever expected to report on the criminal's whereabouts and activities. They are still free to live their lives however they want, go wherever they want to go, and do what they want to do. But not you two poor girls. The man is using his political power to keep your records permanently in the red. We've seen it documented a few times now, where Commissioner Edelstein has tried to clear your names, but was then told by this man to keep them flagged."

"Who is he?" Natalya urged.

"It's the same man who wants us caught and brought to justice," Antonio hinted, "The same man who would see his wife incarcerated in a mental institution. The same man that would spin the divorce proceedings so that he would take all of Mathilda's JCI shares for himself."

"You've got to be kidding me," Natalya gasped, "Arthur Kirkland?"

"Arthur fucking Kirkland," Antonio confirmed, "He's been using you all this time, in his pursuit of us."

As Natalya turned away from him for a moment, Antonio noticed the confusion on her face as she processed the information. That's when he realized he had an opening.

"You have a choice, you know," Antonio pointed out, "You could keep going the way you are, following Arthur's demands, staying within the confines of the law, and being a subservient pet for the rest of your life. As long as we are free, Arthur will keep you under his watch. Not to mention that he's already labelled you as an accomplice, and now has grounds to arrest you on the spot if he ever finds you again."

"Lots of that is your fault, you know," Natalya bluntly reminded.

"Yes, but let me finish," Antonio persisted, "You may consider us to be evil, but Arthur is his own special kind of evil. Essentially, you are choosing which evil you can really trust in this drama. You can choose to let Arthur keep having his way with your freedoms, or you can defy him and place your trust in us."

"How the fuck is putting my trust in you supposed to be a good idea?"

"You can benefit from how we take him down. Our plans for vanquishing JCI includes the destruction of many government databases, including police records. We won't just be clearing our own records, we'll be clearing everyone's records."

"You're plotting pure anarchy and chaos. They'll stop you."

"Not if we're careful about how we do it. We've been planning this for three years now, you'd be surprised how complex our master plan has become. If we succeed, not only is Mathilda a free woman, but so are you."

"What if your plans fall through? If I defy the police, and you fail in your plot, Arthur will demand my incarceration."

"I can give you the power to create your own sort of freedom," Antonio proposed, "I can arrange for Ivan to load a USB drive for you that holds the software program for creating aliases. If you follow the instructions provided with it, you can make your own fake ID, just like the ones Toris and I have. Give yourself a fake name and address, and have the government print you a genuine driver's licence with your falsified profile. You don't have to keep this to yourself either, you can make one for Katerina, for Yao, and for anyone else you like. It may not be the same luxury as using your real name, but it's better than nothing."

"That's a generous offer," Natalya remarked, "What's the catch?"

"There's no catch, you've already been dragged deep enough into this mess," Antonio assured, "Consider it a show of good faith."

"How do I know you're not buying me out?" Natalya claimed, "For all I know, you could be selling this as a prepaid compensation for the next time you misbehave."

"Well, that's impossible to guarantee," Antonio reasoned, "You know we plan to misbehave, and we'll do what we can to keep you out of harm's way. That's all I can promise you, querida."

Natalya glared suspiciously at him, before giving a huff and offering her hand to be shaken.

"It's a deal," she agreed, "When can it be ready, and how will you get it to me?"

"Ivan can start working on it tomorrow, it should only take a day or two," Antonio promised as he shook her hand, "We can arrange for Madeline to help deliver it when it's done."

Antonio went to drop the handshake, but his wrist was swiftly grabbed by Natalya.

"Do not consider this as grounds to manipulate us any further," she warned, "I will be watching your every move."

Antonio only nodded in reply as Natalya dropped her grip and pulled away. She then went around Antonio to push the door back open and rejoin the others.

Antonio slowly followed her back in, giving Toris a nod as he resumed his position of guarding the door. Natalya had gone further in to join Ludwig by the vault door, while Madeline was standing by Ivan and watching him work on the computer.

"Nicely played, Tonio," a woman's voice paged on their private radio channel, "I doubt I could've done that better myself."

"Gracias, gatina," Antonio replied, "It appears your future sister-in-law can be reasoned with after all."

* * *

 ** _Author's Notes_**

 ** _I just love writing the dynamics between Natalya and Antonio, they make excellent rivals._**

 ** _This chapter also hints at the D &D alignment chart that helped motivate this plot bunny in the first place. Arthur, Alfred and JCI represent lawful evil, while Antonio and Ivan are neutral evil. Natalya is more of a chaotic neutral, willing to defy the law a bit to finally be free again. As you can imagine, Mathilda will be rather chaotic._**


	30. Chapter 30

Feliciano caught the railing as he stumbled down the last steps, giggling at himself since nobody else was there to laugh at his little slip.

Perhaps he should cut off the wine for the night when he returned upstairs.

The bank heist had been a resounding success, and their group had returned to the apartments to celebrate afterwards. While Katerina sticked to the soft drinks, everyone else cracked out the wine, beer and vodka for the party. After a while, each of the couples had gone to their rooms for the night, leaving the three singletons together in the upstairs apartment. Natalya eventually convinced the boys to play some truth or dare, and now Feliciano was working on the dare Feliks proposed.

Sneak into one of the other apartments, and try to take a video recording on his smartphone of one of the couples getting their freak on.

Feliciano hushed his giggling as he stumbled past the closed front door to Elizaveta's apartment. He knew that Lovino was definitely in there with her, but sneaking in to get video of that couple was a death wish waiting to come true. Yao and Katerina had also been an option when the trio had been discussing the dare upstairs, but Natalya quickly shut it down on account of it being her sister and brother-in-law. Feliciano was grateful for that, since Katerina is too sweet a girl to use the dare on.

With two couples gone, that only left one other option.

Feliciano halted at his own apartment's front door, composing his drunken self and focusing on the task before reaching for the doorknob. He opened the door to find the suite dark with the lights turned off, but the light streaming through the balcony door from the street allowed for some night vision. Feliciano gently shut the front door behind him, before quietly inching his way towards what had originally been Lovino's bedroom. Since the twin had all but moved in with Elizaveta, the bedroom had become a spare for Madeline to use when she spent the night.

As he reached the door, Feliciano crouched down to sit on the floor, listening quietly to see if Madeline and Ludwig were making noises on the other side. There was nothing to be heard, but they could also be very quiet lovers for all Feliciano knew. The Italian pulled out his phone, unlocked it, put it on complete silence, opened the camera app, and made sure the flash was completely off before going to video mode. Once the phone was set to go, Feliciano reached for the doorknob, slowly turning it before opening the door as cautiously as possible. Once the door had been pushed open by a foot with no apparent reaction from the other side, Feliciano peered into the dark room, also solely illuminated by the light from the street through the window.

Madeline and Ludwig were cuddled together on the bed, but they weren't moving at all. If anything, there might have been the slightest bit of snoring to confirm that they were sound asleep. Their clothes were all over the floor, indicating that they might have been intimate earlier and Feliciano missed out on getting video of them.

Frowning in disappointment over the failure to complete the dare, Feliciano reached back up to pull the door shut, only to stop as he spotted something unusual on the floor. Watching the bed cautiously, he quickly pushed the door back open, before stealthily crawling the couple feet into the room. Once he was close enough, the Italian quickly grabbed the item that had been sitting a bit further from the bed than all the clothes, and concealed it safely in his fist before hastily retreating. He then shut the bedroom door quietly before leaning against the wall again.

As he caught his breath, Feliciano opened up his hand to reveal a small vial with a label on it. Recognizing the size and shape of the vial, he quickly grabbed his phone and turned off the camera app. Allowing his home screen's spaghetti wallpaper to provide the light needed, Feliciano pointed it towards the label and began to read, feeling himself sober up on the spot when the text identified what had been the contents.

A sleeping serum.

The same sleeping serum that Antonio used on the twins last year.

Feliciano felt his heart drop into his gut as he turned back to look at the bedroom door in alarm. There's no way a police officer would touch this stuff willingly unless they were playing dirty, and Ludwig had proven that, aside from his relationship with Madeline and working for the group, he was completely clean. Madeline must have brought the serum into the apartment, but she already knows better than to use this on herself to fall asleep. With that all considered, there was only the one explanation, but Feliciano couldn't understand why she would resort to that.

Why would Madeline drug her own boyfriend?

Sounds from above snapped Feliciano out of his thoughts, and he looked up to the roof. Realizing that someone was moving around above him in the other two-bedroom apartment, Feliciano remembered he was in the middle of pulling off a dare. He slipped the vial into his pocket and his phone into the other pocket, before climbing to his feet and heading to the apartment's front door.

He marched out of the suite and through the hallway towards the stairs, hardly noting his lack of drunk stumbling as he couldn't distract himself from the realization that something was going wrong. By the time Feliciano realized where his feet were taking him, he had already made it back into the suite upstairs, where Feliks was sprawled across the couch.

"Well, how did it go?" Feliks asked as he leaned up, "Did you catch them getting it on?"

"No, I didn't," Feliciano dismissed, sitting down in the armchair with a sigh.

"What happened to you?" Feliks probed, turing to observe him closely, "You look as though you just found someone's piss in your wine."

Without uttering a word, Feliciano leaned forward, pulled the vial out of his pocket, and placed it on the coffee table. As he leaned back again, he watched as Feliks picked it up and inspected it.

"You found one of the vials of serum?" Feliks gasped, sitting up properly in alarm, "What is it doing in the open?"

"The two vials from Antonio's betrayal are locked up in the safe in Elizaveta's apartment," Feliciano reminded, "This is a third vial."

"Where did you find this?" Feliks grilled.

"On the floor in the spare bedroom, when I tried to take that video for the dare," Feliciano explained, "The only thing that would make sense is if Madeline made Ludwig drink it."

"You think she drugged her own boyfriend?" Feliks asked as Natalya re-entered the living room, having changed into pyjamas.

"Who drugged their boyfriend?" she inquired as she joined the Pole on the couch, "I didn't hear your gossip from the other room."

"Madeline might have drugged Ludwig," Feliks repeated, passing the vial to Natalya, "Feliciano found this on the floor in their room."

"It looks identical to the ones from last year," Feliciano added as Natalya inspected the vial, "I wouldn't be surprised if she got it from the same place, or if Antonio supplied it to her."

"God damn it, I should have known," Natalya muttered, placing the vial back on the table, "She's working for Mathilda as well."

"Who's Mathilda?" Feliks quickly asked, prompting a deer-in-the-headlights expression to form on Natalya's face.

"Fuck, I said that name aloud," Natalya muttered to herself, before glancing rapidly between the two boys, "Please forget about hearing that, I've said too much already."

"Who is this Mathilda?" Feliciano pried, "Why can't you tell us about her?"

"It's way too dangerous for me to talk," Natalya refused in a panic, "She seems to find out whenever I try, and damns the listeners to hell."

"She damns them to hell?" Feliciano asked, "What makes you say this?"

"The last two people I spoke to about her were caught by the police 24 hours later," Natalya disclosed, "One of them went to prison, the other went to his grave."

"Who were they?" Feliks asked.

"The one they arrested was Mikkel Kohler," Natalya hesitantly revealed, "The other one was Romulus Vargas."

At the mention of his grandfather's name, Feliciano leaned all the way forward in his chair.

"You spoke to Nonno the night before his death?" Feliciano checked, "You told him about this Mathilda?"

"Yes, I spoke to your grandfather," she confirmed, "It might be because I spoke that the busts happened at all, and I don't want that happening again."

"Natalya, if you think that might happen again, we need you to tell us what you know," Feliciano insisted, "If you think there's a chance that Madeline is involved, it could mean that something is already in the works. If we're all in grave danger, we need to know what is going on."

Natalya took several deep breaths to calm herself down, before reluctantly nodding.

"This Mathilda I speak of is the JCI heiress, Mathilda Jones-Kirkland," Natalya conceded, "I haven't found her yet myself, but all the signs point to her being a lot closer to us than we want her to be."

"What makes you say she's close by?" Feliks drilled.

"Her two loyal henchmen slipped into your mobs as double agents," Natalya declared, "Her loverboy researcher worked for Mikkel, while her personal bodyguard worked for Romulus. As soon as I told the bosses who these boys really were, they escaped and somehow planted the seeds for the police to find your bases."

"Ivan and Antonio?" Feliciano realized, "How do you know all this about them?"

"Ivan's real last name is Braginski, like mine and Katya's," Natalya confessed, "Not only is he our brother, but he's the one Mathilda Jones was cheating on her husband with."

"You are Ivan's sister?" Feliks verified, "You're the one Mikkel was talking about?"

"Mikkel spoke of me?" Natalya asked, "What did he say?"

"On the day of the busts, Mikkel sent Toris to spy on Ivan when he left the base," Feliks elaborated, "Upon our discovery of Toris being arrest, Mikkel accused Ivan of turning him in. The moment Mikkel mentioned speaking to his sister, Ivan claimed to understand Mikkel's allegations and quit our group on the spot."

"Ivan must have already known what was going on," Natalya pondered, "If he hadn't, he would've tried to explain himself to Mikkel and recruit the gang as willing accomplices instead."

"Come to think of it, he might have done that to Toris," Feliks noted, "When I saw Toris in the mall a couple months ago, he confirmed that Ivan had broken him out of jail, and that their new line of work was much more dangerous than what they did for Mikkel."

"That would confirm how Toris fits into this puzzle," Feliciano connected, "When Natalya talked, Ivan and Antonio responded by giving the mobs to the police, and recruiting Toris as Mathilda's newest henchman. Still, is there any clues to how they found out you talked?"

"Aside from what Feliks just said, I have no idea how they might have had any forewarning," Natalya denied, "The only ones at our meeting the previous night were myself, Mikkel, Romulus and Yong Soo. Unless Mikkel told Toris what was going on, there's nothing that could have given me away."

"Why did you tell them about Ivan and Antonio?" Feliks asked.

"Ever since Mathilda, Ivan and Antonio first ran away, Katerina and I have been the police's favourite leads on them," Natalya confessed, "Whenever we brushed the law, they would detain us so that we could be questioned about Ivan's whereabouts. Antonio has blamed Arthur Kirkland for keeping our records so heavily flagged, and I'm inclined to believe the claim. At that mass intervention Madeline hosted between our three groups last year, I saw Antonio and Ivan again for the first time in a long while. Antonio knew that I couldn't turn in either of them without knowing where to find them, and he taunted me with the lack of information I would have for the police. When I told Yong Soo what was going on, he arranged for me to tell Mikkel and Romulus as well, and ask for them to help. Ivan and Antonio would be put in the hands of the police, Mikkel and Romulus could have charges dropped with their cooperation, and my record and Katerina's would finally be cleared."

"As perfect as your plan was, it still failed somewhere, and they took advantage of it," Feliciano analyzed, "We already know what happened instead, but I still don't understand why you didn't tell us about this earlier."

"Antonio was right, I had no way to trap them if I ever found them," Natalya justified, "Only Antonio and Ivan have dared to show their faces, while the Jones family has refused to release any pictures of Mathilda from any point in her life. Even if I revealed their identities at our meeting after the delivery truck heist, they'd still escape before I could call the cops on them. They are very dangerous, and will go to extreme lengths to avoid getting caught. With what happened to Mikkel and Romulus after I spilled the beans, I've been too scared to utter a word about it to anyone. Now that you boys know, I am even more worried that they'll try to turn the tables."

"To be fair, I'd rather know that they're trying to trick us than be caught off guard when they do," Feliciano assured, "We'll find a way through this, Natalya, we won't let them do that to us again."

"We know that Ivan, Antonio and Toris are definitely working for Mathilda, but what about Madeline?" Feliks reminded, "If she's been in contact with them all this time, then she must have got this vial of serum from Antonio. She also disappeared off the face of the earth for six months when the bases were busted last year, and still hasn't said where exactly she was hiding."

"She was also the first to vote in favour of tonight's heist, and proposed the cash split they agreed on," Natalya added on, "I knew something smelled foul about accepting their job."

"We did just willingly helped them to break into the biggest bank in the city," Feliks remembered, "A trap might have already been placed and set in motion."

"I will speak to Lovino in the morning," Feliciano promised, "Depending on what he says, we may want to go into hiding."

"I should really get to bed then," Natalya suggested as she stood up, "I'll have to make sure the safehouse is ready for occupancy. Good night, boys."

"Good night, Nat," both boys replied.

Natalya strolled out of the living room and headed towards her bedroom. Once the door was shut, Feliks leaned in towards Feliciano.

"Do you really think it's true, Feli?" the Pole quietly asked, "Can we no longer trust Madeline?"

"She's going to need an amazing defense to prove Natalya's story wrong," Feliciano considered, "I highly doubt she can pull that off."

* * *

 ** _Author's Note_**

 ** _I do believe somebody asked about the serum from Chapter 11 in the reviews. Well, here it is again, in its true form as a plot device, and it is the first of many to resurface!_**


	31. Chapter 31

"This really doesn't make sense to me."

"What doesn't?"

"The clean sweep could have easily turned off all these cameras," Vash explained, staring at the computer screen, "Why would they intentionally leave these ones going? Did they really want to get caught?"

"I suppose I see your point," Bella agreed as she worked to his left, "Still, who would want to be caught breaking into the biggest bank in the city?"

"Somebody intent on chaos, I'd guess," Gilbert wagered, sitting to Vash's right, "Okay, I've getting shots of our robbers entering the vault and pulling out bags, but they're keeping their masks on."

"The ones on my screen appear to be standing guard, with one of them busy at the computer over there," Vash explained, nodding backwards in the direction of the workstation a few feet behind them, "I did have one of them leave the room quickly after they arrived, it's possible they went elsewhere in the building."

"Your missing person is here, they went into the server room," Bella edited, "I think they know they're on camera."

"How can you tell?" Vash asked, leaning over to see if he could take a quick peek.

"They pause to look at the camera before waving at it," Bella described, clicking a couple more times, "In the next frames, they take off their mask. Gilbert, you better see this, I think it might be that Lithuanian you're looking for."

"Are you serious?" Gilbert exclaimed as he rose from his seat and rushed over to look over Bella's shoulder. Vash stayed in his chair, and wheeled himself closer to Bella's side to see that the man on the screen was indeed the Kohler gang's missing spy.

"That is definitely Toris," Vash confirmed, "If he's involved in this, then the others might be as well."

"Why is he showing his face, then?" Bella asked, before clicking the mouse a few more times.

The screen showed Toris waving at the camera again, before pulling something out of his pocket, showing it off for the camera, and plugging it into one of the server towers. Once that was done, Toris only smirked at the camera before walking out of the room.

"He left something for us in there," Vash determined, "Bella, head upstairs and get it."

"Right away, Vash."

Vash wheeled himself back to his workstation while Bella stood up and turned to leave the room. As Gilbert slipped behind him to return to his seat, Vash glanced around the rest of the cash count room. There were a couple technicians working on the computer that had been used in the heist last night, while Roderich and Lars spoke to management and security outside the open vault door.

Not seeing or hearing any of interest, Vash looked back at his own screen and kept watching the recorded feeds from outside the vault. After a few moments, one of the masked robbers removed their mask, revealing tanned skin, green eyes and curly brown hair, all belonging to Vash's former employee.

"Gilbert, Toris isn't the only one involved," Vash stated, "I've got a shot here of Antonio Fernandez Carriedo."

"Holy shit, really?" Gilbert gasped as he leaned over to watch.

Vash skipped ahead a few more frames, watching as Antonio addressed everyone before they also took off their masks. Vash's gaze was drawn quickly to the revealed man at the workstation.

"Ivan Braginski was on that computer," Gilbert noted, "He must have chosen which cameras got turned off."

"The boys wanted to be seen doing this," Vash worked out, "The question remains, why so?"

"That's Ivan's little sister standing beside Antonio," Gilbert identified in the shot, "Natalya looks a little more willing to work with them this time around."

"You know that Arthur will bite onto that," Vash reminded, "Whether or not you believe Natalya is trying to stop her brother, her crimes do not support her case."

"You don't have to remind me about that, I just feel bad for her getting dragged into this mess," Gilbert commented, "Can you switch angles at all? There's two people just out of the shot by the vault door."

"I'll see what I can find," Vash said, "Can you get Roderich and Lars to come over here, please?"

"Sure thing."

While Gilbert turned to wave his superiors over, Vash switched camera shots to the one just outside the vault door. As soon as the screen loaded, a blond couple were shown standing guard. The tall man was facing away, but they had a perfect view of the curly-haired woman's face.

"There she is, in the flesh," Gilbert verified as he saw the screen again, "Madeline Williams."

"What do you have for me, Vash?" Roderich demanded as he approached with Lars.

"We have identified several key players in the heist," Vash reported, "As you can see, we just found Madeline Williams, but we also have shots of Ivan Braginski, Antonio Fernandez Carriedo, and Natalya Arlovskaya. We also have Toris Laurinaitis leaving us a gift in the server room, which Bella just went to collect."

"He left a gift, you say?" Roderich checked, "They must have ulterior plans involved in this."

"Who is Madeline speaking to in that shot?" Lars examined.

"We haven't figured that out yet," Vash said, "Let's take a look."

Vash clicked on his mouse to make the camera recording move forward. Madeline moved to go past the man, before he grabbed her arm to pull her back to speak to him. As she turned away from the camera to face the man again, he turned towards her and revealed his face to the camera.

"It can't be," Gilbert muttered, "Oh Luddy, what are you doing?"

"That's a very good question indeed, Gilbert," Vash drilled, "What exactly is your brother doing there?"

"I swear to God, I had no idea," Gilbert pleaded, "As far as I knew, Ludwig spent the night at his girlfriend's apartment."

"Well, not only was he here helping the heist, but he's now associated with the others," Roderich rectified, "How on earth did he get mixed with them?"

Vash moved ahead a couple more frames, only to stop at an incriminating capture of Ludwig pulling Madeline in close to him and kissing her.

"You've got to be kidding me," Gilbert mumbled, "What the fuck?"

"Gilbert, weren't you wondering why Ludwig still hasn't introduced his girlfriend to you?" Lars recalled, "It sure looks like it's because she nearly killed us a month ago."

"Ludwig has been dating his girlfriend since before the crash, hasn't he?" Roderich double-checked, "If so, he's also broken the police codes of conduct for disclosure on that case, along with the crimes involved in associating with these criminals and breaking into the bank."

"Roderich, let me talk to Ludwig," Gilbert begged, "He probably doesn't know who he's associating himself with."

"He was there the night you crashed your car, Gilbert," Roderich argued, "He arrested Natalya Arlovskaya, and was fully aware of Madeline's arrest. He has no excuse for working with the most-wanted criminals in the city!"

"He doesn't know the bulk of their files, he can't be held responsible for that!" Gilbert countered, rising from his chair, "For all we know, he's working on a lead and is hiding undercover. If he tells us what he knows, we can get him to help us shut Mathilda and her henchmen down for good. For fuck's sake, Roderich, give him a chance to explain himself before you throw him behind bars!"

Vash could feel the tension mounting in the air as Gilbert and Roderich silently glared at each other for a moment. Roderich backed down first, calming himself down as he pushed his glasses up from where they had slid down his nose.

"I will give you one chance to make this work, Gilbert," the Commissioner decided, "Convince your brother to turn himself in, and in exchange for the information he can provide us, I will lower his punishment to suspension and probation. If Ludwig refuses to cooperate, he will be discharged from the force as a rogue, and charged for the extent of his crimes. I will have a warrant prepared for his immediate arrest, and I will let Arthur prosecute him under the full force of the law. Do I make myself clear?"

"Perfectly clear," Gilbert agreed, "I will get my brother to cooperate, I swear it."

"Lars, go with Gilbert to find Ludwig and bring him in," Roderich ordered, "Let me know immediately if anything should happen."

"May I print a few of these security camera captures of Ludwig?" Gilbert requested, "He might not believe me if I don't have evidence to prove he was at the bank."

"I'll allow it," Roderich approved, "Vash, print this one with the kiss, along with a couple more with Ludwig's and Madeline's faces."

Vash quickly right-clicked on the feed, and used the program's software to send it to the printer. He then went back to the previous shots they had analyzed, and printed shots of those as well.

"They're all heading to the back corner printer," Vash told the others.

While Gilbert went to the printer to get the hard copies, Lars and Roderich backed away to speak to each other quietly for a moment. Vash watched as Gilbert came back to join the other conversation, before Roderich let the pair head out to collect Ludwig. As the two officers left the room, Bella came back in and walked straight up to Vash.

"It's for you, Vash," Bella said, holding out the object in her hand, "The tag looks like it has a message you should read."

Vash held out his hand, and allowed Bella to place it in his palm. As she withdrew her hand, Vash finally saw that it was a black USB drive of JCI design, with a tag tied onto it with a string. The small piece of paper was folded in half with a small sticker sealing it shut, and had a hole punched in the corner to tie on the string. The first side had _To Vash_ written in red permanent marker, and Vash flipped it over to find _From Mathilda_ written on the other side. He removed the sticker and opened the paper, only to find a short message written inside.

 _Your patience has paid off, we're getting to the fun part of the game now. I hope you're ready for me._

"She's playing her games again, Roderich," Vash revealed as he rose from the computer station, "I'll use my own laptop for this."

"What is it?" Bella asked as Vash walked by the pair to the other end of the room.

"That will be beyond you, Bella," he heard Roderich dismiss, "Would you please take over at the computer Gilbert was just at? The robbers have started removing their masks, you may be able to identify the ones inside the vault."

Vash reached the other end of the room, and typed the password into his laptop to unlock it for use. Once his desktop opened up, Vash plugged in the USB drive, and allowed it to load. Hearing approaching footsteps, he turned to see that Roderich was joining him, and Bella was already working on the other computer station.

"By the way, Roderich, what does Bella know about Mathilda's case?" Vash interrogated, "She recognized Toris in one of the shots we found, and seems to get herself involved with the clues we find."

"She has been on all the mob cases, that's the limit to which she knows about him," Roderich reported, "Gilbert, Lars and I are the only ones with access to the restricted files, as you and your superiors have insisted."

The USB finished loading, and opened up a very familiar program that filled the screen.

"It's the GPS tracking software again," Vash realized, "Mathilda has something else for us to find."

"What could she possibly be leading us to this time?" Roderich wondered, "Can we even trust what it tells us?"

Once the program had displayed its mapping function, Vash opened up the legend at the side of the screen, where a singular blue dot showed with an interesting description.

"The remaining mobster fugitives," Vash read aloud, "Did she find the rest of the Kohler and Vargas gangs?"

"Roderich, you better get over here," Bella called from across the room, "I have the rest of the crew identified."

Allowing the program to continue running in the background, Vash quickly put his laptop on lock again before following Roderich back over to the computer stations.

"Who have you found?" Roderich asked.

"Several of the mobsters who escaped last year," Bella identified, pointing at the faces on the screen, "There's Elizaveta Herzvedery and Feliks Lukasweiscz, along with both the Vargas twins. We even have Yao Wang, a suspected member of the Dragon Triad."

"Start printing some good shots of their faces, please," Vash requested, realizing what the plan was going to be, "We're going to need them."

When Bella nodded and turned back to her screen, Vash pulled Roderich towards the middle of the room.

"They're the ones she wants us to find," Vash quietly explained, "Mathilda was the mastermind of the heist, her henchmen carried it out, and the others fell into the trap. She knows we're still looking for them, so she's using them as bait to lure us into her game."

"Should we go through with this then?" Roderich inquired, "These fugitives do need to be brought in, but if this is step one of her plan, then could Mathilda be setting a trap for us as well?"

"I say we proceed with extreme caution," Vash advised, "We keep her involvement as quiet as possible, strike as soon as we can, and watch for any signs of planned mischief on her part."

"Give Arthur a call, we're going to need several warrants," Roderich said, "The moment that blue dot shows up on your screen, we will strike."


	32. Chapter 32

Moments after shutting off the water, Ludwig stepped out of the shower, grabbed his towel, and wiped himself down. Once he was sufficiently dry, he grabbed his boxers from the counter and slipped them on, before giving his hair one more thorough rub with the towel. He paused as he went to hang up the towel, before reaching over instead to wipe the steam off the mirror to look at his reflection again. Once he had a clear spot, he had to lean in close to even see the very faint hickey that Madeline had left him the night before.

Ludwig frowned in his confusion. He could've sworn that Madeline was rougher than that in bed.

After the heist last night, Ludwig and Madeline had stuck around at the cafe to celebrate with the others. They had a couple drinks before they slipped off to the spare room in Feliciano's apartment to get some rest. They had already arranged to spend the night there, so it was only a matter of Ludwig sharing a bed with his girlfriend for the first time, which quickly took an intimate turn. Once he had removed Madeline's shirt and started kissing her neck and shoulders, she brought a small vial to his lips, and convinced him to drink what she said was an aphrodisiac. Ludwig had obeyed, then gave her another kiss to the lips before continuing down to her chest.

That was all Ludwig could remember. Perhaps it was an unexpected side effect of the aphrodisiac, but he couldn't recall how far he and Madeline had gone after that in their intimacy. The next thing Ludwig could remember was waking up in the morning with Madeline cuddling to him like a teddy bear. He was tempted to try initiating a round of morning sex, but Madeline claimed to have a hangover. After cuddling a little longer, Ludwig was the first to get out of bed and get his things together, since he needed to get home and take care of a few errands during the day.

Ludwig shook his head at his reflection, before turning away and hanging up the towel. Next time they had sex, he would have to make sure Madeline doesn't give him that aphrodisiac again.

He opened the bathroom door, and walked through the hallway to his bedroom, shutting the door behind him. He went over to the bed, grabbed the fresh clothes he had laid out before his shower, and put them on. Once he had the pants, belt and shirt on, he sat on the bed and grabbed his socks. As he was putting the first one on, he heard the apartment front door open and shut, followed by a shout from a familiar voice.

"Luddy, are you here?"

"Yes I am, Gil," Ludwig called back as he grabbed his second sock, "Shouldn't you be at work?"

"I'm already at work," Gilbert called back, "Come out to the kitchen, I need to talk to you about something."

"I'll be right there."

Once the second sock was on, Ludwig rose from his bed and went to open the bedroom door. As he walked down the hallway, he could hear his brother's voice coming from the kitchen, along with another familiar one answering him. When Ludwig turned the corner, he saw Gilbert sitting at the table, with a folder and a glass of water sitting in front of him. He was accompanied by the Lieutenant, who remained standing and leaned against the counter.

"Good morning, Ludwig," Lars greeted, "Have a seat, we need to talk to you."

"What's going on here?" Ludwig asked as he pulled out the chair opposite his brother and sat down.

"You were out with your girlfriend last night, weren't you?" Gilbert brought up, "How did that go?"

"It went very well, our date was lovely," Ludwig answered as Gilbert took a sip of his water.

"What kinds of things do the two of you do together?" Gilbert interrogated, placing the cup back on the table, "Do you guys stick to the general dating fare, such as kissing and fucking? Or do you like to play it dangerously, breaking into the biggest bank in town and helping to steal a shit-ton of cash?"

"What?" Ludwig stuttered, surprised to hear Gilbert say that.

"We have video surveillance of you and Madeline Williams at the National Bank of Commerce last night," Gilbert declared, opening his file and pushing it over, "The two of you helped a gang of wanted criminals break into the vault and steal the cash."

Ludwig pulled the open file over, and flipped the pages over to reveal shots of himself and Madeline in front of the vault. They each had their faces shown in one picture each, while a third picture showed their kiss.

"It can't be," Ludwig muttered, "Ivan said he shut off the cameras."

"You know your colleagues are wanted criminals, don't you?" Lars drilled.

"Yes, I do," Ludwig admitted.

"You also knew I was arresting your girlfriend a few weeks ago, didn't you?" Gilbert accused, "You kept your mouth shut when she nearly killed us?"

Ludwig couldn't find the words to confess, so he merely gave a small nod.

"And you're still in a relationship with her?" Gilbert yelled, rising from his seat and smashing his fist on the table, knocking over the glass, "First you hide Madeline from me, and now you're helping her break into banks? What the fuck, Ludwig?"

"Sit down, Gilbert," Lars sternly ordered.

Ludwig watched as his brother glared at the Lieutenant before slowly sitting down.

"Roderich has allowed you one chance to cooperate, Ludwig," Lars stated, "If you immediately turn yourself in, and tell us what you know about all these criminals, Roderich will only have to put you on suspension and probation. If you refuse this offer, you will be discharged from the force, and branded as a rogue and mobster. He will have Arthur prepare the warrant for your arrest, and have you charged for all your crimes against the law, including those of breaking the police codes of conduct."

Hearing metal clinking, Ludwig turned to see that Gilbert had dropped a pair of handcuffs on the table between the file and the spilled glass of water.

"Please don't screw yourself over, Ludwig," Gilbert pleaded, "Surrender peacefully, your freedom depends on helping us catch Madeline."

As Gilbert spoke, Ludwig couldn't keep his eyes off the handcuffs, and felt the guilt running through his veins. He had been caught breaking the law, and answering for his actions was the only reasonable thing to do. His eyes then drifted to the pictures of himself and Madeline in front of the vault. Ludwig had made all those promises to keep his mouth shut, to secretly work for Lovino and help them out. He had done it because he wanted to stay with Madeline, because they loved each other. Maybe he was the only one to say it so far, but he knew she was just being shy about it. If he made the wrong choice now, Madeline would be locked up for life, and he would never hear her say those words.

"I can't do this," Ludwig calmly chose, standing from his chair, "I'm sorry, Gilbert."

"Can't do what?" Gilbert asked, also rising as Ludwig turned towards the hallway, "Where are you going?"

Noting that Lars was about to leave the counter and follow him closely, Ludwig turned right into the hallway, marching swiftly towards his bedroom instead of turning left to the apartment's front door. He stepped into his bedroom, turned on his heel, and slammed the door shut in Lars's face before locking it.

"Ludwig, open up," Lars demanded, pounding his fist on the door, "That's an order!"

Ludwig didn't bother answering verbally, having already reached the other side of his dresser. He quickly pushed it along the wall and past the door's frame, the sound of the moving furniture alerting the outsiders to his plan.

"Gilbert, get over here now," Ludwig could hear Lars shout back down the hallway, "He's barricading the door with his dresser."

Ludwig knew he only had at most a couple minutes to get what he needed, maybe only 30 seconds if Gilbert and Lars removed the doorknob by pulling out a gun and shooting at its joint. First he grabbed his wallet and phone from the bedside table, slipping them into the back pockets of his pants. Next were the gym shoes on the chair, which were swiftly pulled onto his feet without bothering to retie them. The last item Ludwig grabbed was his hoodie, which he quickly put on before approaching the window, ignoring the sounds of Gilbert and Lars pounding at the door.

Ludwig unlocked it before sliding the glass all the way up, revealing the exit large enough for him. He peeked out the window first and quickly gathered his bearings. Their apartment was on the 8th floor, but a small ledge ran along the building outside his window. This ledge connected directly to their rusty old metal balcony, which had a set of stairs as the fire escape.

He leaned back into the room, before stretching to put his legs through. Once he was seated on the windowsill with his legs dangling out, he got his footing on the outside ledge before slowly pulling his body through, hanging onto the inside of the window for dear life. When he was finally completely outside and in a safe position, he slowly turned in his spot to have his face to the outside wall instead of his back, holding the window frame while maneuvering his feet. Seeing that their balcony was only a few feet away, he held the window frame with his right hand while reaching for the rail with his left. With the rail clasped in his left hand, he let go of the window frame and slowly shuffled his feet over, only for his left foot to find the slippery spot on the ledge.

As Ludwig slipped and started to fall, his left hand lost its grip of the top rail, but his right hand managed to catch the lowest rail. His left hand quickly joined it, and he let himself swing below the metal structure. His body's impact make noise against the balcony, and Ludwig found himself hanging on for dear life. He glanced up, knowing that he could do a pull-up and get himself onto the higher balcony, but knew that Gilbert likely heard the noise and would be investigating any second. Ludwig glanced down and started swinging his legs back and forth. Knowing he was about to lose his grip anyways, he let his legs swing forward below their balcony and let go of the rail, allowing himself to crash onto the downstairs neighbour's balcony.

He managed to land perfectly on his feet, but the ruckus against the metal was more than enough to be heard from upstairs. Knowing that he'd be followed any second, Ludwig immediately rushed towards the stairs and barreled down, making it down another floor before he heard the noisy footsteps on the balcony upstairs followed by Gilbert's loud and angry roar.

"LUDWIG, GET BACK HERE NOW!"

He kept rushing down the stairs, ignoring the thumping of his heart from hearing his brother shout at him like that. Ludwig focused on his steps instead, and listened as Gilbert's steps followed him from above. He finally made it to the second floor balcony, where the stairs ended and a ladder was along the wall to connect to the alley floor. Ludwig glanced up and saw that every moment of hesitation was getting Gilbert one step closer to him, so he took his chances, jumped off the front of the balcony instead, and landed in the bag-filled dumpster below.

As soon as he made impact, Ludwig quickly pulled himself up, and climbed out of the dumpster. Once his feet were on solid ground, he glanced upward and regretfully made eye contact with his furious brother.

"For fuck's sake, Ludwig, don't do this!" Gilbert bellowed as he barrelled down the stairs between the balconies on the second and third floor, "She's playing you for a sap, don't throw your life away for her!"

Knowing that Gilbert would also have to jump into the dumpster, Ludwig ignored his brother's warning and ran out of the alley. When he made it to the street, he spotted a passing taxi and quickly flagged for it, managing to get the driver's attention in time for them to pull over. Ludwig quickly pulled open the back door, scrambled himself in, and shut the door in time to see Gilbert just getting out of the dumpster.

"Where to, sir?" the driver asked.

"Please just hit the gas and get me out of here," Ludwig quickly barked, "I'll figure out my destination on the way."

Ludwig turned to watch Gilbert rushing down the alley towards him, but the car had already pulled into traffic and started moving faster than him. He spun in his seat to watch as Gilbert ran out into the road and was forced to abandon his foot chase, a look of despair on his face as he pulled his radio off his shoulder.

"You know it's bad for business, driving someone away from a cop in pursuit," the driver warned.

"That officer is my brother, and I am also a cop," Ludwig quickly countered, "As long as you don't ask questions and keep driving, I'll pay you quadruple the fare."

"Sounds good to me," the driver accepted, "Just tell me where I need to go, and I'll get you there."

"Thanks," Ludwig acknowledged as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. He quickly unlocked it, looked up a number, and dialed without bothering to send his safe word. He brought the phone to his ear, and only had to wait three rings for an answer on the other end.

"What the fuck is it, Ludwig?" the person on the other end bluntly greeted, "I'm trying to fry eggs for Liz right now."

"I'm afraid Elizaveta's breakfast may have to wait, Lovino," Ludwig replied, "The cameras stayed on last night, and Gilbert found out about me and Madeline. I'm on the run, and I need your help."

* * *

 ** _Author's Notes_**

 ** _Sorry for taking so long with this chapter, it was harder to write as well._**

 ** _Unfortunately, the easy part of my autumn has just ended. I start another course this weekend, where I have an intense 8 weeks of studying, on top of my full-time job, before writing another exam right before Christmas. I was hoping to have the story further along by now, and even have all the remaining chapters drafted, but that did not come anywhere near happening. I apologize in advance, but I will be skipping a few (more) upcoming Thursdays._**

 ** _Rest assured, I will provide a very particular Mathilda POV chapter as a New Year's gift, if not earlier than that._**


	33. Chapter 33

Hearing a beep, Elizaveta glanced at the screen on Felix's phone. It only showed a 95% charge, along with the app notification that prompted the alert. It was sitting on the side table with her phone, which was next in line for the charger. She then glanced back at the computer station, where her boyfriend was furiously typing away and staring at the screen.

"Any luck, sweetie?" she asked.

"No, not yet," Lovino replied, "Does Maddie really need 15 minutes to answer a damn phone call?"

"Her friend must be extra chatty today," Elizaveta guessed, before hearing the apartment door open. She leaned forward from her resting position on the couch, and watched as Feliciano entered the kitchen and went straight for the coffee pot.

"Buongiorno, Lovi, Liz," he greeted as he pulled out a mug and poured himself a drink, "How is everything today?"

"Disastrous," Lovino bluntly replied, "That fucking Russian screwed up."

"What are you talking about?" Feliciano asked, "What happened?"

"When Ivan shut down the cameras last night, he missed a few of them," Elizaveta elaborated, "They have clean shots of Ludwig and Madeline in front of the vault, and probably have some of us too. The police have already confronted Ludwig, he chose to go rogue and make a run for it."

"Dio mio, that is definitely a disaster," Feliciano gasped, "Where is he now?"

"We've sent Natalya to pick him up at the skytrain station," Lovino answered, "She'll take him straight to that safe house she's preparing. It would probably be a good idea for the rest of us to join them there."

"That doesn't surprise me at all, that heist felt too easy," Feliciano remarked as he walked over to look over his brother's shoulder at the computer screen, "What are you looking at there?"

"The remote access program, I'm hacking the bank," Lovino explained, "I'm trying to find whatever security camera recordings there are, and destroy them before the police can claim them as evidence."

"Idiota, you'll be the death of us!" Feliciano immediately scolded, as he reached over and unplugged the USB drive from the tower.

"What the fuck, Feli?" Lovino complained as the program closed itself out, "I was trying to clear us out of harm's way, you just ruined my work!"

"Not only was your work futile, but you might have screwed us over even further," Feliciano reprimanded, slamming the USB down onto the desk, "If they have screenshots of Ludwig and Madeline, then they'll have the rest of us too. The evidence has already been found, it's too late to change it. Also, Ivan never promised that this USB program was untraceable. For all we know, the police might have discovered the existence of this program being set up for remote access. If they have figured that out, they might already be trying to trace it to us!"

"Okay fine, we don't use it anymore," Lovino backed down, "You don't need to yell at us, it was Madeline's idea."

"Madeline?" Feliciano repeated, "What part of this was her idea?"

"After Natalya left, Maddie persuaded us to load the program," Elizaveta clarified, "She said we could easily track down the security camera recordings through our remote access. She should be back in here any minute, she had to answer her phone just as we got into the program."

"Madeline just left the building," Feliciano corrected, "She left the other suite with her stuff 5 minutes ago, saying that she needed to return to her own apartment and run some errands."

"She's gone?" Lovino gasped, "She promised us she'd return when her call was finished!"

"If that's the case, I might need to turn your day from bad to worse," Feliciano proclaimed as he pulled an item out of his pocket and held it out in his open palm for his brother to see, "We now have several reasons to believe that Madeline is a double agent."

Lovino looked at the item in Feliciano's palm, before an alarmed expression took over his face.

"That's impossible," Lovino denied, crawling off his chair to open the small safe below the computer desk, "They should both be locked up."

"Yes, they should be," Feliciano recognized, "This might be a third one."

Her curiosity piqued, Elizaveta rose from the couch to take a better look, before Feliciano moved his hand to show it to her as well.

"One of the vials?" Elizaveta checked as she took the item and hastily read the label, "The ones with the sleeping serum? Shouldn't this be in the safe with the other one?"

Just as she asked the question, Lovino swung the safe door open and reached in, so Elizaveta and Feliciano turned to watch. Lovino pulled something out, and looked at it in his hand. He then turned to the others and displayed two vials in his palm, with a terrified expression on his face.

"The two from last year were still in the safe," Lovino hesitantly confirmed, "Fratello, where did you find this third one?"

"On the floor in the spare bedroom," Feliciano reported, "The only way it would make sense is if Madeline got Ludwig to drink it."

"That's ridiculous," Elizaveta refused to believe, "Why on earth would she use that on him?"

"I have no idea, but the fact remains that this is the same serum that Antonio gave us last year," Feliciano argued, "Madeline ditched her SIM card as soon as the busts happened last year, and still hasn't said where she hid for those six months. She's been in contact with those bastards all this time, even having Antonio's phone number handy. She was the first to vote in favour of last night's heist, and she even proposed the accepted cash split. Now that Ivan has blown the cover and things are looking dire, she has run off again. All the signs point to her pulling the wool over our eyes. Madeline is working for them!"

Elizaveta froze in shock as she considered Feliciano's compelling arguments. Madeline had indeed hidden some truths from them over the year, but had she really taken it to this extent?

After a few moments of shocked silence, Lovino tilted his head skyward in apparent frustration and huffed.

"Elizaveta, send Natalya a text to get the address for the safe house," Lovino calmly ordered, "We'll tell Katya to close up shop as quickly as possible, we need to go into hiding immediately."

Just as Elizaveta went to grab her phone from the side table, an alarm sounded from the computer. Recognizing it as Katerina's special pager, she and Feliciano immediately came close to watch as Lovino went back to work on the computer. The screen quickly filled with the security cameras set up in the cafe downstairs, where three special guests were sitting at a table and waiting for Katerina to bring some coffee.

"You're kidding me," Lovino groaned, "The police commissioner and the Attorney General are here? Along with the JCI head of security?"

"Today of all days too," Feliciano added, "Liz, send Natalya the code blue."

Elizaveta quickly rushed to grab her phone from the side table, before returning to the desk to watch over Lovino's shoulder.

"Yao and I are ready for anything here," Feliks paged from the kitchen, "We're listening closely to whatever happens."

"You boys be ready for trouble," Lovino replied into his own microphone, "Katya, stay calm and act natural."

Elizaveta started up her messaging app just as the live feed showed Katerina reaching the table.

"Welcome to the Phoenix Cafe, gentlemen," Katerina greeted, with the sound picking up on the wire they had sewed into her apron, "Can I get you menus for food to go with the coffee?"

Elizaveta pulled up her messaging with Natalya, and quickly typed _CODE BLUE_ before sending.

"Actually, we are here on business today," the commissioner declined, "You are Katerina Arlovskaya, are you not?"

"Yes I am, Commissioner," Katerina replied, "How can I be of assistance?"

"You can tell us what you can about these people," the JCI head of security demanded, opening a folder with papers for her to look at, "Specifically, the circumstances under which you last saw each of them."

As Katerina reached over to spread the papers across the table, Lovino had the camera zoom in. Once the view was close enough, they spotted the faces of Madeline, Toris, Antonio and Ivan displayed on the files.

"I'm not sure how many times you've now insisted on showing me their faces, but I still have no idea where to find these boys," Katerina answered, "Madeline's face is an interesting addition to the pile, I will admit."

"Perhaps you could call out your husband to speak to us then," the Attorney General proposed, "That way, we can also ask Yao about his involvement with last night's heist at the Bank of National Commerce."

"Holy fucking shit, they know about Yao," Lovino cursed.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Katerina lied to the guests, "Yao and I spent last night watching a Lord of the Rings marathon in our apartment."

"We have security camera footage of your husband in the bank's vault, along with the rest of your employees," the Commissioner claimed, before turning to look at the JCI head of security, "Vash, where in the building is the USB drive?"

"It was unplugged three minutes ago, but it should still be upstairs," the head of security reported, "It's in the one-bedroom apartment on the second floor, in the corner of the living room area."

In unison with the twins, Elizaveta's alarmed gaze dropped to the USB on the desk, and realized that Feliciano's suspicions were true.

They had fallen into a trap.

"We all need to get out of here, immediately," Lovino announced in the microphone, before bolting from the computer chair.

Elizaveta finally snapped out of her shock as Lovino grabbed her wrist, and she immediately burst into action with the twins. Not bothering to stop for shoes or coats, the trio barreled through to the apartment's door, and rushed through the hallway. As they sped down the stairs, they could hear shouting in the kitchen, followed very quickly by gunshots.

Lovino was first to reach the bottom of the stairs, and halted at the wall-mounted key rack by the back door. Elizaveta stopped beside him, and peeked around the corner into the kitchen. Feliks was using the back counter as a barricade, choosing his moments to rise and shoot his gun. She couldn't see Yao, but could tell that the officers were aiming towards the left at the front of the kitchen.

Feliks rose to take his shot, and Elizaveta could only watch as his choice had been the wrong one. At first, he simply appeared to freeze in his movement, and his posture relaxed. As his body fell backwards towards the ground, Elizaveta saw the bullet wound in his forehead and the blank stare in his eyes. Before she could see Feliks hit the ground, someone had grabbed her wrist and pulled her away from the scene she was witnessing.

Elizaveta turned to look in the direction she was being pulled, and saw that Feliciano was guiding her out the building's back door. She watched her feet as she went down the steps to the pavement, only to nearly bump into Lovino when she reached the bottom. Elizaveta finally looked up to see that the police had created their own barricade, blocking off every exit. After shifting side to side in alarm, her gaze finally focused directly in front of the trio, where Sergeant Gilbert Bielschmidt stood waiting for them with his gun ready to fire.

"You three are surrounded, there is no way out of this," the albino officer called out, "Put your hands to your heads and surrender."

Elizaveta froze in her place, unable to decide how to react. Feliciano was the first of their trio to move, and put his hands to his head.

"He's right, you guys, we won't escape this time," Feliciano urged, "Just go along with it."

Elizaveta gave in and gently raised her heads to her head, and watched as Lovino did the same in front of her.

"Fuck it," Lovino cursed, "We surrender, Gilbert."

"Smart move, you guys," Gilbert allowed, lowering his gun and pulling out a pair of handcuffs, "Bella, Raivis, help me arrest them."

Elizaveta took deep breaths to calm herself down as Gilbert approached with two other officers. The albino motioned for the female officer to take Elizaveta, and for the younger male officer to take Feliciano, before talking to Lovino.

"Bring your hands down in front of you, please," the female officer requested.

Elizaveta complied, and allowed the officer to put the handcuffs around her wrists. She began to lead Elizaveta away, only for Gilbert to reach out and halt them.

"I do have one immediate question for the three of you," Gilbert inquired, "I ask this not just as a police officer, but also as a concerned elder brother. Where is Ludwig?"

"We sent Natalya Braginskaya to pick him up," Feliciano revealed, "She will keep your brother safe."

"Braginskaya?" Gilbert verified, "How do you know that name?"

"Natalya explained everything to me last night," Feliciano elaborated, "I can tell you what I know about Mathilda's case, and anything that possibly connects us to it. In exchange for my cooperation, I want you to lessen the charges against my family and friends."

"It sounds like you and I are going to have a long talk then," Gilbert accepted, "Come on, let's get the three of you to the station."

As the female officer pulled her away, Elizaveta gave Feliciano a concerned look, to which he replied with a reassuring nod. He clearly knew something about what was going on, and apparently so did Natalya. Elizaveta's mind swarmed with questions as the female officer guided her into the back of the police car.

Was Natalya's real last name Braginskaya instead of Arlovskaya? If it was Natalya's real last name, then was it Katya's as well? Why would they change it?

Who's Mathilda?


	34. Chapter 34

Ludwig could tell that Natalya's day was going almost as miserably as his.

The taxi had dropped him off at the skytrain station without any troubles, and he had caught the first train possible in the right direction. Grabbing his hoodie on the way out of the apartment had been the right choice, as Ludwig was able to hide away from peering eyes and melt into the crowd during the trip. Once he got to another station, he hopped off and went to the nearby parkade, where he found Natalya staring at a message on her phone and cursing at it like a madwoman.

 _CODE BLUE_

Once they were in her car and on the road, Natalya explained how the message was meant to imply that the police were at the cafe, and that they could not return there until told otherwise. They drove around for short spurts, and stopped at a nearby park for a while, waiting to hear an update from the others before heading to the safehouse. Just as they were about to give up waiting and go into hiding, Madeline sent her safeword, prompting a phone call where she told the pair what happened.

The cafe had been compromised, and the others had been arrested.

After much refusal and reluctance on Natalya's end, Madeline convinced them to join her at the shipyard's warehouse complex along the river, where Ivan, Antonio and Toris had their base hidden. They would meet Toris at the entrance to the shipyard, and he would guide them the rest of the way in. Once there, the six of them could regroup and decide what should be done next.

As they took the exit off the freeway before the bridge, Ludwig could see the shipyard approaching, and it only took them a few more moments to reach the entrance. Toris was waiting for them outside the main gate, and Natalya was muttering to herself under her breath as she slowed down and pulled the car up beside him. Once the car was stopped, Toris went around the front of the vehicle to Natalya's driver side door, prompting her to roll down the window.

"Park the car and get out please," Toris requested, "I will drive you the rest of the way in."

"Why the fuck can't I drive in myself?" Natalya demanded.

"Ivan and Antonio still don't trust either of you with the location of our base," Toris explained, "The only way you get to see the base is if you're driven in while blindfolded."

"Motherfuckers," Natalya cursed as she shifted the gear into park and undid her seatbelt. Toris opened the driver door and held it open as she climbed out, before climbing into the seat himself. As Natalya climbed in through the other door to the back seat, Toris opened his coat jacket and pulled out two burlap bags.

"Please put these on," Toris instructed as he handed on to each of them, "I will tell you when you can remove them."

Ludwig accepted the bag and silently put it over his head, noting that Natalya was muttering enough swear words for the both of them. He kept his eyes open, noting that a small amount of light was getting through the fabric without giving anything away. He heard Toris buckle his seatbelt, before shifting the car's gear to make it move again. The road became bumpy when they reached the gravel paths, and while Ludwig did feel a couple turns, he had no idea how deep they were reaching into the shipyard. After what felt like only a couple minutes, the light coming through the bag darkened, before he felt the vehicle stop in its place and turn off.

"Okay, you can remove them now," Toris approved, and Ludwig could hear a seatbelt being unbuckled.

Ludwig reached up, removed the bag, and observed their surroundings. The car had been parked between two black trucks, and had a cement wall in front of them. Natalya was muttering to herself, while Toris was opening his door and climbing out. Ludwig quickly followed suit, undoing his own seatbelt and exiting the vehicle from his own side. He watched as Natalya waited for Toris to get out of the way, before opening her own door and joining them outside the vehicle.

Toris let them forward across the small parkade, towards the one door along the opposite wall. Ludwig glanced to the right, spotting the waterfront around the corner to the entrance of the covered area. He then glanced behind him at the parked vehicles, and spotted Madeline's old brown beater at the far end.

Toris reached the door and opened it, going in and holding it open for the others. Ludwig followed Natalya in, where Toris let them turn left towards the stairs. The dark red paint captured Ludwig's attention as they climbed the stairs, making it so that he jumped in his spot when Natalya suddenly recoiled at the top steps.

"What the fuck?" Natalya shrieked, nearly falling backwards into Ludwig, "Who's fucking idea was it to put that at the top of the stairs?"

"Someone with a rather macabre sense of humour," Toris answered between chuckles behind Ludwig, "I nearly fell down the stairs the first time I saw it too."

Natalya finally resumed moving forward, and Ludwig followed to see what was at the top of the stairs. The hallway continued on a few feet before turning a sharp right at the end, but the far wall had an unusual painting of a polar bear on the Arctic sea ice. The bear had its muzzle drenched in the blood of the dead seal at its feet, and it was glaring forward with incredible rage.

"That is bloody terrifying," Ludwig agreed as Natalya resumed moving forward, and he could barely keep his eye off of the painting as they followed the hallway's turn to the right.

As Ludwig shifted his gaze, he was greeted by a large living area. There was a kitchen in the far corner, with a sliding door to an outside balcony, and the main area was filled with chairs, a couple tables and a couch. The side wall to his right was filled with computer monitors, and a familiar man turned his gaze away from them to look at the newcomers.

"Hello Natalya, Ludwig," Ivan greeted, "Welcome to the bear cave."

"Where is she?" Natalya immediately asked, "I have a few choice words for the bitch, and for you bastards as well."

"She's not here, and she will avoid meeting you as long as she likes," another voice replied, and Ludwig turned to see Antonio and Madeline entering the living area from another hallway by the kitchen.

"How did you get here so fast, Maddie?" Natalya drilled, "You were still at the cafe when I left."

"I left just shortly after you did, I had to do a few things at home," Madeline explained, "I got a call from Antonio a short while later, telling me that the cafe was about to be surrounded. I arranged to meet up with them, and here I am."

"We heard the reports on the police scanners about the showdown at the cafe, and attempted to take action," Toris added, "I tried to call Feliks, but he never answered his phone."

"What happened with the cameras last night?" Ludwig inquired, "You guys claimed to have turned them all off, yet the police still found high-quality footage of our heist."

"The bank had set up a couple new cameras only a couple days before the heist," Ivan defended, "Although they were made live and operational, they had not been added to the main circuit that I had focused on turning off."

"That's your excuse for getting us all caught?" Natalya sneered, "Six of our friends have been arrested, Ludwig had to run from the police, and that's your fucking excuse?"

Ivan glanced behind Natalya, and Ludwig looked around as everyone else in the room shared worried glances.

"There were only four arrests," Madeline finally revealed, "Yao was in the cafe kitchen with Feliks, and he didn't take too kindly to how the Commissioner was arresting Katerina. The two of them started a gunfight through the serving window, and the police retaliated. The gunfire didn't stop until they had both been shot dead."

"Yao and Feliks are dead?" Ludwig repeated, "What about Katerina?"

"She was arrested, as were Elizaveta and the twins," Antonio reported, "Out of the 12 people in our combined groups, the six people that haven't been found yet are in this room."

"The police have added the two of you to the most wanted list, and made your files classified," Toris added on, clicking on the computer mouse and allowing the reports to fill the screen, "You are officially being hunted by the police."

Ludwig approached the screen, staring at the report on his own file. It had been updated with official discharge notice from the force, and the listed crimes for which they wanted to prosecute him included desertion, treason, resistance of arrest, and collusion with the mobsters.

"What have I done?" Ludwig muttered as guilt, regret and alarm began to rush through his mind.

"You broke the law, that's what you've done," Ivan scoffed, "You chose to go rogue, and now the police are holding you accountable for it. You can deny it all you want, but the truth remains that you are now a criminal and a fugitive of the law."

Not wanting to acknowledge Ivan's words, Ludwig turned and marched through the room towards the kitchen. He reached the sliding door, opened it, went onto the balcony and shut the door behind him. He took deep breaths to calm himself down, while staring out at the waterfront. The bridge was only about a mile away, but he could tell that there would be no way to navigate the shipyard and find the base from the water.

Spotting a patio chair beside him, Ludwig sat down and held his head in his palms as the millions of thoughts ran through his mind. Did he make the right choice, running from Gilbert instead of turning himself in? If he had turned himself in, would the others still have been caught? If he cooperated, would Yao and Feliks have survived? Did he really just throw his life away?

The sliding door opened beside him, and he turned to watch as Madeline joined him on the balcony and slid it shut behind her.

"Are you okay?" she checked.

"Far from it," Ludwig replied, "I just threw my life away. My brother, my career, everything in one fell swoop. I gave it all up to avoid having to tell my brother how I was connected to you and the others. It might be because I resisted arrest that the others were targeted, and why Yao and Feliks are now dead."

"There's no way you could've known that would all happen," Madeline declared, "You followed your instincts to do the right thing, and here you are now."

"Gilbert has security camera footage of us kissing outside the vault," Ludwig confessed, "He knows now that you are my girlfriend, and that I kept you hidden from him after he arrested you."

"He was bound to find out at some point, we couldn't have hidden from him forever," Madeline assured, "However, what happens next is completely your choice. You could turn yourself in, tell the police what you know, and spend the rest of your life in prison. However, you could also go to Natalya's safe house, and find a way to live in the shadows of society and live the rest of your life in hiding. Another option is to accept Ivan's statement that you have become a criminal, embrace your turn from the law, and work the black market like the rest of us do."

"Would I be able to stay with you?" Ludwig asked.

"Only if you choose the third option," Madeline professed, "I am already a criminal, I cannot have you turning me in to your brother. If you choose to return to the police, I will dump you on the spot. If you go into hiding, it would be difficult for us to keep our relationship a secret."

The sliding door opened, and the pair turned to see Antonio leaning out.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," he said, "Ivan wants a word with you, querida."

"I'll be right there," Madeline acknowledged, and she rose as Antonio went back inside before turning to Ludwig.

"Keep in mind, Ludwig, this choice is completely yours," Madeline reminded, "I cannot choose your new life for you, this is your decision to make."

With that said, she went through the sliding door and shut it behind her. Ludwig stared at the door for a couple more moments, before staring out at the ocean and pondering her words.

What will he do now?

* * *

 ** _Author's Notes_**

 ** _I apologize for severely slacking on this story. My course proved to be a lot more intense than I was expecting, so I had no time to work on this story. It also didn't help that this chapter was already difficult to put together in the first place. I had the ideas, but no way to actually write it out._**

 ** _As I promised in October, that Mathilda POV chapter is still coming, and I'm now hoping to have it come out by the end of January, which just happens to be when my next course starts up and I would probably take another short hiatus. Once the new course is done at the end of March, though, I'll have a free spring and summer in which to finish this story._**


	35. Chapter 35

Natalya sat on a barstool at the kitchen counter, unsure of who she should be keeping a close eye on. To her immediate right, Antonio and Toris were busy making dinner, moving around in what seemed like practiced coordination. To her immediate left, Ludwig sat at the dining table now after coming in from the balcony, and was staring blankly ahead as he seemed to still be thinking about what happened. Madeline was laying across the couch and watching the television, which was showing the news reports on a low volume. Ivan was the furthest away, having hardly moved from the computer chair where he watched the monitors all day.

Natalya's gaze returned to the couch, and she frowned in confusion. She could remember that Madeline had been involved in her conversation with Feliciano and Feliks the previous night, but she had drank too much vodka for her to be able to remember it now. It was the oddest part of the conversation to have forgotten, as Natalya could distinctly remember telling the boys what she told Mikkel and Romulus, as well as there being enough concern to prepare the safe house. She had a feeling it was something suspicious that Madeline had done, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

"Drinks, anyone?" Toris asked for the room to hear, distracting Natalya from her thoughts.

"Water, please," Ivan replied from his chair, with Madeline and Ludwig echoing the request.

"How about you, Natalya?" Toris checked as he opened a cupboard and reached for glasses.

"I'll have water as well, please," she answered.

Toris brought four glasses out and placed them on the counter, before reaching into the fridge, pulling out a water pitcher, and bringing it to the same counter. As he poured the drinks, he slid them gently towards Natalya.

"Could you please hand these out, Natalya?" he requested.

Natalya nodded as she grabbed the first glass, rose from her seat, and brought it to the table for Ludwig. She then grabbed the next two glasses from the counter, went around the table, and dropped one on the coffee table in front of Madeline. She continued on to where Ivan was sitting at the computer, and placed the cup beside him as she glanced at the monitors. There were police reports and scanners filling the screens, and the report he was focusing on the most had their sister's mugshot attached to it.

"Is Katya okay?" Natalya asked.

"Yes, and so is the baby," Ivan responded, "It says here that she reported her pregnancy when they were booking her in at the station, so they got a medical examiner to give her a check-up to make sure the trauma hadn't caused any problems. She was even able to use this as grounds for getting better treatment in her interrogation with Arthur."

"She spoke to Arthur Kirkland?" Ludwig checked, "What did she tell him?"

"She told him everything about how she was involved with both the Dragon Triad and the Vargas twins," Ivan reported, "She chose to cooperate in exchange for a shorter sentence on her crimes of association to the mobs. Although Feliciano's testimony advocates her innocence, Arthur is still quoting 18 months in jail for her."

"With 18 months in jail, she'll have to give birth in prison," Natalya realized, "Since I would be on the run, and Yao is dead, my little niece or nephew will be taken away from her."

"What about Feliciano?" Madeline inquired, "What has he said?"

"Feliciano spilled the beans about what Natalya told him last night," Ivan continued, "He revealed how he and Feliks were given the same spiel that was given to Mikkel and Romulus last year. Once his interrogation with Gilbert was completed, Feliciano's file was changed to restricted access."

"Oh, for fuck's sake," Natalya moaned, "How do you bastards know about that?"

"Natalya, what did you tell them?" Ludwig probed, "What are you guys talking about?"

"I told them that Ivan is my brother," Natalya revealed, "Our real family name is Braginski, but Katerina and I have been using our mother's maiden name for a few years now. Ivan used to work for JCI as a software engineer in their R&D department, before having an affair with his boss, Mathilda Jones-Kirkland."

"Mathilda Jones-Kirkland?" Ludwig grasped, "You're the researcher that ran away with Mathilda Jones-Kirkland?"

"Now you understand why I don't trust police officers," Ivan remarked, "Especially one whose brother is leading the hunt for us."

"That's also why I can't trust my own brother anymore," Natalya blamed, "As long as these fuckers are evading the law, Katerina and I will be watched for any leads we can provide on their whereabouts. According to Antonio over there, Arthur Kirkland is the asshole keeping our records so heavily flagged."

"Much to our displeasure, Ludwig, let me assure you," Ivan claimed, "My dear sisters were never supposed to be involved, it was only supposed to be myself, Mathilda and Antonio. I do regret that this hurt my sisters, but it ended up being part of the price I had to pay to make sure Mathilda was also free."

"Why would Mathilda need to be free?" Natalya refuted, "What could you possibly be getting her away from that would justify fraud, embezzlement, treason, and all that other bullshit?"

Natalya heard a thud behind her, and turned to see that Antonio had stabbed the cutting board with the butcher's knife.

"Mathilda nearly killed herself in her pursuit of freedom," Antonio defended, "The only way anyone could ever understand what she went through is to face the lows she faced, and come back stronger and braver than she did."

"Tell me, then," Natalya challenged, "What has she gone through?"

The room was silent and tense as she glared at Antonio, and he took a deep breath as he removed the knife from the cutting board and set it down.

"Despite being born with a silver spoon in her mouth, Mathilda has never been free to live her own life," Antonio began, "Her father decided everything about her life, including marrying her off to Arthur and restricting what was seen of her in the public eye. After the death of Andrew Jones, Alfred took over with a bit more leniency, but was still overprotective of his sister. Arthur Kirkland, on the other hand, proved to be even worse than his father-in-law, and the dominating asshole wanted to control everything Mathilda did."

"It wasn't until after Andrew's death that Mathilda demanded to work for JCI," Ivan took over, "She wanted to get out of the house, and do something with her life aside from being Arthur's trophy wife. The boys eventually gave her a managerial role in the R&D department, on the condition that she retire when she started bearing children for Arthur. After she became my new boss, Vash started a rotation of security personnel to find a personal bodyguard for Mathilda, and Antonio was one of the candidates."

"It was a few months later that everything went horribly wrong," Antonio narrated, "Mathilda hadn't been feeling well, and stayed home from work for a couple days. I had been on the shift that day, and after she had been left alone for a while to take a nap, I went in to check on her. I found her on the bathroom floor, puking blood into the toilet and losing consciousness. On the counter was the pregnancy test she had taken, along with the two bottles of whiskey she had chugged back after seeing the positive result."

"She discovered she was pregnant, and her response was to chug down two bottles of whiskey?" Ludwig put together, "Why would she do that?"

"The answer is simple, she didn't want the child," Ivan elaborated, "Her role at JCI was the only freedom she had in her life, but the agreement was that she'd give up the position when she became pregnant. She had become frustrated with how she had no control of her life, and decided she'd rather kill the child before Arthur found out. The easiest way she could think of was to give herself alcohol poisoning, at a level toxic enough to trigger a miscarriage."

"She nearly also took her own life in the process," Antonio pointed out, "I nearly had to explain to Alfred, Arthur and Vash how she was able to kill herself while under my protection. I'm the one who called for the ambulance to rush her to the hospital, and I'm the one who waited in that hallway to find out whether or not she would recover. Arthur scolded me for leaving her unattended with the whiskey, but Vash backed me up on the grounds that I had saved her life with my quick reaction."

"And the child?" Natalya asked.

"Whether it was from the alcohol itself, or the trauma to Mathilda's body when the doctors saved her life, there was enough damage done," Antonio reported, "By the time the doctors noticed the pregnancy hormones in her blood test, Mathilda had already miscarried. When the others were told, Arthur immediately accused Mathilda of sabotaging her own pregnancy, claiming that Mathilda knew she was pregnant and killed his child."

"But she did know, didn't she?" Ludwig countered, "You said the pregnancy test was on the counter with the whiskey bottles."

"Before she lost consciousness, Mathilda instructed me to destroy the evidence," Antonio revealed, "She insisted that Arthur could never know that she was pregnant, so I had slipped the test into one of my pockets before calling for help. I nearly told Vash the truth, but when I saw Arthur's reaction to the blood test results, I dumped the evidence in the garbage instead. That bastard was more disturbed about the child being miscarried than about his wife nearly committing suicide. I kept my mouth shut, and Mathilda refused to explain why she nearly killed herself."

"Because of that incident, Arthur was determined to prove that Mathilda had become clinically insane," Ivan picked up, "While she was still recovering physically, Arthur had multiple psychiatrists put her through rigorous mental disorder tests. She passed all the tests with a clean record, with the only noted exception being her refusal to say why she pounded back that whiskey."

"Arthur became far more abusive to her during that time, and I had to keep stepping in to protect her from his wrath," Antonio recounted, "Despite Arthur's insistence that I get fired from my employment at JCI, Mathilda convinced Vash to let me stay on as her personal bodyguard. While I worked for her, she gradually came to trust me, and I became her confidant. She told me everything about her life, including how much she hated it and wanted to run away from it forever. I started falling in love with her, and I considered whisking her away from her sorrow many times, and giving her a much happier life elsewhere."

"Why didn't you do that, then?" Natalya asked, "Why did you have to drag my brother into this?"

"Although Mathilda is grateful for how I saved her and protected her, she is unable to return my feelings," Antonio professed, "When she resumed her work at JCI, the R&D department became her safe haven in this world. Ivan had welcomed her back, and was willing to listen to her and help her recover. Their work relationship turned into a friendship, which then became an affair. It didn't take much longer for Ivan and Mathilda to win each other's hearts permanently."

"While Antonio kept her safe and alive, her affair with me allowed her a taste of freedom," Ivan supplemented, "She was finally able to defy her husband and her family in some way, and she flourished in her confidence and strength. Before long, she knew exactly what she had to do to earn complete freedom. If she wanted to be free to love me without any objections, she had to get Arthur out of the way. I suggested that she could simply divorce him, and that she had strong arguments for domestic abuse. However, Antonio's repeated claims of defending her from Arthur's rage lacked evidence, and were already being dismissed by Vash and Alfred. She eventually decided on something far more sinister. She wanted Arthur dead."

"Did she try to kill him?" Ludwig asked.

"She tried more than just that," Antonio amended, "Her plan became more complex as she realized how much she hated her life. Arthur obviously had to go, there's no question there. As for Alfred, while he overprotected her in every other part of her life, he turned aside when Arthur was hurting her. She considered simply drugging them both at dinner and taking 100% control of JCI, but then she opened her eyes a bit further and found a bigger mess."

"What did she find?" Ludwig encouraged.

"About four years ago now, there were massive riots when Alfred and Arthur completed buying out the government," Antonio explained, "As she watched the news coverage, Mathilda realized that JCI itself had become a tyrannical force in the world, oppressing freedom from everyone. As long as JCI existed, everyone would be subservient to it. She came to realize that her own freedom could not be achieved if she didn't help achieve freedom for everyone else."

"That's why she tried to destroy the company?" Natalya connected, "She simply wanted her freedom? Did she really need to take it to such lengths?"

"She went to the lengths necessary for her situation," Madeline justified, "To be free, you need to clear your name of association to your brother. To be free, I had to forsake my family's fortune and run away from home. To be free, Mathilda has to get her brother, her husband, and JCI out of the way. We all have to fight for our freedom somehow, and while I may have succeeded in my own quest, you and Mathilda will not succeed until all those bastards are out of the way."

"You knew about all this, Maddie?" Natalya charged, "You knew the truth about these fuckers the entire time?"

"Ivan and Antonio have told me their story, yes," Madeline confirmed, "As for Mathilda, I have yet to meet her, but I know we are certainly kindred spirits. What I went through for my freedom is a piece of cake compared to her troubles, and I understand the way she must see the world. Mathilda deserves her freedom, and I will help her get it if I can."

"Even if it means that Katya loses her freedom?" Natalya criticized, "It was because these idiots got caught and ran away that we became associated with the mobs in the first place."

"You're completely right, Natalya, they are partially to blame for what has become of Katerina," Toris agreed, "However, we already have a plan for getting her out of her jail time, and we could use your help."

"Getting Katerina out of jail time?" Natalya repeated, "How do you plan to do that?"

"We will organize a jailbreak," Antonio declared, "We will free Katerina, Lovino, Feliciano and Elizaveta from their cells."

"You want to stage a jailbreak at police headquarters?" Ludwig asked, "Are you out of your fucking minds?"

"This is a contingency plan we've had prepared for some time now," Toris illustrated, "It can easily be done with our small group, and we should be able to pull it off before the others get shipped off to county prisons. We know that Arthur will have them wait at the station until Monday morning in case he thinks of any more questions over the weekend, so we'll need to act before then."

"How would you do it?" Ludwig grilled.

"We will need two people to break into the holding area to break out our four prisoners," Ivan described, "Everyone else will carry out a diversion upstairs to keep the police occupied on the other floors of the building."

"That will be awfully difficult to pull off," Natalya commented, "Especially with only the three of you doing it."

"That's why we could use your help," Toris proposed, "If you and Ludwig agree to help us, the rest of us can cause a more effective distraction while you break out your friends. Once the task is done, the two of you and the prisoners can flee to that safe house you claim to have been preparing for this exact contingency."

"What about Madeline?" Natalya asked, "What would she be doing?"

"I'd be upstairs helping with the diversion," Madeline explained, "We'll still have our phones as well, so I can go into hiding with them after, and then we can arrange to meet up after the dust settles."

"What if we are found downstairs by my old colleagues?" Ludwig pointed out, "As you can probably imagine, I don't want to shoot them dead."

"We have a special gun you could probably use," Toris suggested, "The T-101 shoots tranquilizer darts that only take 3 seconds to knock out your victim, and they'll wake up 20 minutes later."

"And what makes you think you can get me to agree to this suicide mission?" Natalya challenged.

"Ivan is preparing your USB right now, the one with the clean slate that I promised you," Antonio mentioned, "You could take it as soon as it's done, of course, and run off on your own. However, I could also have Ludwig hold onto it, and hand it over after the two of you have broken the others out. That way, instead of only using it on yourself, you can also use it on Ludwig, Katerina and everyone else."

"You did say it yourself, after all," Ivan reminded, "It would be a shame for our little niece or nephew to be born in prison, and be taken away from our beloved sister."

Natalya glared at her brother as she ran the scenario through her head. Once again, they had clearly thought of every detail to their plan, and the prospect of breaking Katerina out of jail was far too alluring. She had the feeling that the diversion upstairs could involve mischief, but Ivan had swore he never intended to hurt his sisters. As long as they made it to the safehouse with no harm after the fact, they might never have to speak to Ivan or Antonio ever again.

"If we agreed to help you, when would this jailbreak happen?" Natalya inquired.

"We were hoping to get Ludwig's advice on it," Antonio replied, "We have the entire weekend in which to make it happen, surely he would know when there are the least officers in the building."

"Sunday night is when it should happen," Ludwig advised, "Tonight and tomorrow will be busy, and not as many crimes happen on a Sunday night. The Sunday night crew is also less likely to recognize me if I'm there."

"Are you agreeing to do it, then?" Madeline asked.

"Only if Natalya agrees as well," Ludwig said, "Either way, I need her help getting to the safehouse and hiding in the shadows after everything is said and done. For the time being, I'll stick with her on what we do next."

"How about it then, Natalya?" Ivan put forward, "Will you help us, or not?"

As she felt the entire room watching her, she finally made up her mind.

"God damn it, we're in."

* * *

 ** _Author's Note_**

 ** _Here's the tragic backstory I've been promising the entire time. What do you think of Mathilda now: still a crazed psychopath, or a brave woman fighting for her own freedom?_**


	36. Chapter 36

She stared ahead at the bars of her cells, eyes sore from running out of tears to cry.

Just when she thought her little brother had ruined her life enough, along comes the worst day of her life.

The moment the police commissioner had walked into her cafe with the JCI heads in tow, Katerina suspected there would be trouble, with the gut feeling being enough to alert Lovino. She had done her best to cover the group's tracks, but Arthur Kirkland already had warrants for everyone to be arrested on sight.

It was when they attempted to cuff her that Yao retaliated, pointing a gun through the serving window from the kitchen, and everything fell apart. A squad of policemen had suddenly stormed through the front door in response, and made their way into the kitchen. The JCI security chief had pulled her down to the ground beside the counter, so Katerina could only listen to the sounds of them shooting down Yao and Feliks.

She was crying her heart out all the way to the station, barely able to choke out words as the police questioned her at various points. By the time they wanted to know of any medical precautions, she hardly had enough of her voice left to croak about the 10-week mark of her pregnancy. The officer was kind enough to arrange for an immediate doctor's visit to confirm that the trauma had not harmed the child at all, and she appreciated that they gave her a single cell and a bit more hospitality.

Of course, there had been one asshole that was not as pleasant.

She was already in a miserable mood when she was put in an interrogation room. It was clear that Katerina was being questioned by an incompetent intern, from the way the young woman repeatedly left the room to speak to someone else. After a short while, Katerina demanded that the child's boss be the one to question her if they expected to do this properly. Less than 30 seconds after the intern left the room, Arthur Kirkland himself came in and took over the investigation.

Although their meeting in the cafe was the first time they had ever spoken in person, Katerina already knew she wouldn't like this man. Natalya had told her after the heist of Antonio's claim that the JCI shareholder was responsible for keeping their records flagged for so long, so it was obvious where the interrogation would be heading.

Perhaps it was a bad idea to imply that Arthur's wife is also Katerina's prospective sister-in-law, but she no longer gave a rat's ass.

Given the circumstances, however, Katerina had no other choice but to tell Arthur the truth. She spoke of how she and Natalya got mixed up with Im Yong Soo and the Dragon Triad, before allowing the Vargas twins and Kohler gang fugitives to make a new base at her cafe. They also discussed how she knew Madeline and Ludwig, and how the police officer got mixed into their shenanigans. She also confessed that Ivan and Antonio visited the cafe the prior week to arrange the heist.

The only item on the agenda she could stand firm on was that she had no idea where to find Ivan, Antonio or Mathilda.

Hearing footsteps, Katerina watched as an officer strolled by the cell. It was now Sunday night, and Arthur had told her that she would most likely be relocated to a nearby county prison Monday morning. The only other person whose fate she knew was Feliciano's, as Arthur had mentioned his testimonies while interrogating her. Natalya must have told the Italian about their family issues at some point, since Feliciano managed to take most of the blame on himself to help lower her expected sentence.

As much as she appreciated his kindness, Arthur still quoted 18 months as her expected jail sentence. That was more than enough time for Katerina to give birth in prison, and have the newborn taken away from her. With Yao dead, and both her siblings also wanted behind bars, she would lose her child forever.

"Чорт ти, брат," she muttered to herself.

It was Ivan's fault that this had all happened to her. If he hadn't fallen in love with another man's wife, the three siblings might have been able to live their lives in quiet, peaceful contentment without ever considering crime. At the same time thought, it was not entirely his fault. Mathilda was the crazed madwoman with a plan, he was simply devoted enough to help attempt her vengeance.

Whoever's fault it was, Katerina had no tears left to cry over it, and all hopes for her brother to change his ways and beg forgiveness had vanished into nothing.

"Stop right there!"

Katerina listened as a voice shouted down the hallway, before promptly being followed by plenty of female voices shouting.

"Piss off, bitches, I'm only opening two cells!"

Recognizing her sister's voice in the bold proclamation, Katerina immediately leapt from the bed and approached the bars. She couldn't see much down the hallway, but that didn't matter for much longer as Natalya and Elizaveta came into sight moments later.

"Katerina, there you are," Natalya gasped as the girls approached the bars, "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine," Katerina replied as Elizaveta fumbled with the set of keys Natalya handed her, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm breaking you both out," Natalya explained as Elizaveta attempted a couple keys on the cell door's lock, "Ludwig is here as well, he's breaking out the twins down the other hallway."

"What's with the gun?" Katerina asked her sister as the lock clicked, "Did you kill someone?"

"Relax, you worrywart, it's only tranquilizer darts," Natalya explained as she backed up.

Elizaveta swung the door open, and Katerina rushed out to hug both of them at once. After a quick moment, they pulled apart.

"We better get going," Natalya instructed, "Elizaveta, head back the way you saw me come from."

With Natalya to her side, Katerina followed quickly as Elizaveta led the way back down the hallway. The women in the other cells were reaching out, begging to also be set free, but Katerina could tell from their haste that it would not be happening. They reached an open area, where Ludwig and the Italians rushed out from the opposite direction.

"Lovino!" Elizaveta called out, rushing ahead of the sisters to meet Lovino in the middle of the room and kiss him.

"Katya, Natalya," Feliciano called out, walking past the smooching couple to reach the sisters, "Are you girls alright?"

"Yes, we're fine now," Katerina replied as he hugged her, only to be interrupted as an alarm sounded above them.

"That is coming from upstairs," Ludwig reported as everyone was glancing to the ceiling, "We need to get moving."

"Come on," Feliciano encouraged, taking Katerina's hand and guiding her to follow Ludwig towards one of the exits.

"What is that alarm?" Natalya asked from just behind Katerina, "Have they caught onto us?"

"The police are locking down the other floors," Ludwig explained as they rushed down the hallway, "The others must be really getting on their nerves."

"Wait, what others?" Elizaveta inquired, trailing with Lovino at the back of the group.

"Madeline, Ivan, Antonio and Toris," Ludwig answered, "They're running a distraction upstairs to cover the jailbreak."

"What the fuck?" Lovino shrieked, "You teamed up with them?"

"They were the only ones we could reach after you were all arrested," Natalya justified, prompting Katerina to look back with a frown, "I don't like it either, but it's better than nothing."

"They did all of this!" Feliciano yelled, surprising Katerina as he let go of her hand and also turned back to speak to Natalya, "The USB was rigged to give away our GPS location, and all the bank's cameras were left on! They tricked us into accepting the heist, so that they could put us in jail!"

"That doesn't make sense," Ludwig denied, slowing down at the front to keep himself in the conversation, "They told us that only a couple cameras were missed, and Toris claimed to have tried calling Feliks to warn you all."

"What a load of bullshit," Elizaveta refuted, "Feliks refused to exchange numbers with Toris in the spring. Even if they had, I was watching Feliks's phone the entire time on my charger, and Toris never called it!"

"What about Madeline?" Natalya asked, "She claimed that Antonio called her after she had left the cafe."

"The bitch sneaked out under our noses," Lovino revealed, "She convinced us to plug in the USB, before using an incoming phone call as an excuse to leave our sight and slip out of the building!"

"Speaking of Madeline, there might be another problem," Feliciano added on, "Ludwig, when you were with Madeline the other night, did she have you drink anything from a small vial?"

"Yes, she gave me an aphrodisiac," Ludwig replied, pausing at the doors to the next hallway to look at Feliciano, "How do you know about that?"

"I found the vial on the floor, and it was not an aphrodisiac," Feliciano revealed as the rest of the group came to a stop behind him, "It was a sleeping serum that Madeline gave you, she put you to sleep."

"That's impossible," Ludwig denied, "She wouldn't do that to me."

"Oh holy fuck, that's what I forgot," Natalya moaned, "It's true, Ludwig, Feliciano showed me the vial."

"You forgot?" Feliciano scolded, "How could you forget something like that?"

Katerina couldn't hear how Natalya defended that statement, as Feliciano continued his accusations while Ludwig also tried to get a word in. Once Elizaveta and Lovino entered the mix, Katerina reached her limit and snapped.

"That's enough from all of you!" Katerina shouted, making the others mute as she positioned herself in the middle of the group, "Whether or not Madeline is involved, it is clear that Ivan and Antonio are up to something with this jailbreak. I suggest we save the stories for later, and get out of here while we still can, unless you idiots want to get trapped in whatever their master plan is!"

The silence continued for a few moments, with the alarm blazing through the ceiling above them, before Elizaveta broke the silence.

"Katerina is right, we need to get out of here," she agreed, "Ludwig, lead the way."

Without a reply, Ludwig turned and pushed the door open in front of them, leading into the next section of hallway. The group followed in uneasy silence, and Katerina could feel the tension in the air threatening to break loose the moment anyone else said a word. They reached another door, and Ludwig motioned for them to wait a moment, raising his gun into position. He pushed his back against the door to open it, and allowed it to close behind him as Katerina heard a voice on the other side. A few moments later, Ludwig opened the door again, with the gun lowered back towards the ground.

"The officers are knocked out, we're in the clear," Ludwig reported, allowing Katerina and the others to enter the office area, where a counter blocked the way to a wall covered in keys. She approached the last door, and looked out its small window to see a small parkade with several parked police vehicles.

"What now?" Feliciano asked, prompting Katerina to turn back and see Ludwig behind the counter.

"The five of you will take one of the black vans to disappear," Ludwig explained as he pulled a set of keys off the wall and tossed them to Feliciano, "The licence plate number is on the tag, there's no GPS tracking on this unit."

"What about you?" Lovino asked as Ludwig came back around the counter, "Aren't you coming with us?"

"No, I'm not," Ludwig replied as he removed a lanyard from around his neck and handed it to Natalya with a USB drive attached, "I need to find Madeline."

"Are you out of your fucking mind?" Natalya scolded as he walked past, "Madeline betrayed you!"

"You have no proof of that," Ludwig immediately countered as he opened a side door to a staircase, "If anything, she's also being misled by Ivan and Antonio. I need to get her out of harm's way while I can. I have your phone number, Natalya, I'll message you when I'm safe."

"Ludwig, don't do this," Natalya pleaded, following Ludwig into the staircase, "Come back down here, now! Please, don't throw everything away for her!"

Katerina watched as Lovino reached in to keep Natalya at the bottom of the stairs.

"Natalya, he's not coming back, and those alarms are getting louder," Lovino pointed out as he dragged Natalya back by the wrist, "If we don't leave now, we'll all get caught and locked up again."

"Lovino's right, we have to leave Ludwig to his own devices," Feliciano concurred, "Katya, lead the way."

Katerina glanced at the staircase door one last time, before turning to the parkade door and pushing it open. The twins were right, they had no choice but to leave Ludwig on his own.

No matter how remote his chances of escape had now become.

* * *

 ** _Author's Notes_**

 ** _Sorry for the long hiatus, everyone! As I mentioned in previous notes, I was doing two courses in a row towards my designation, and they were a lot tougher than expected. In addition, this chapter was difficult to properly write out, which is why it took six months of writer's block before I changed up the POV and rewrote the two thirds of the chapter in a single evening._**

 ** _However, I am officially on break for the spring and summer, which gives me plenty of time to write out the remaining 11-12 intense chapters. Now would be a good time to re-read the story and refresh your memory on several key details, as the next chapter is going to be big._**

 ** _According to Google Translate, what Katerina muttered was Ukrainian for "Damn you, brother," and is pronounced as "Chort ty, brat."_**


	37. Chapter 37

The blonde ducked below a desk, pausing to make sure there were no footsteps following her. After a couple moments, she looked over and saw her last target waiting for her at the end of the row beside the emergency exit. After a bit of posturing, she shimmied over to the photocopier beside the wall, pausing again to observe her surroundings.

"Rendezvous has been made with Ivan on the top floor," Antonio reported into her earpiece, "We are heading towards the elevator."

She reached into her backpack and pulled out her last device. After turning it on and syncing it with her remote, she reached around the back of the photocopier, and attached the device along the part of the wall where the structural beam supported the entire building. Once it was in place, she brought her fist to the side of her face, with her thumb pressed to her finger to activate the microphone.

"My last device is in place, this floor is complete," she checked in as she slipped her backpack on, "On my way to rendezvous point."

"I am en route as well," Toris quickly replied, "I'm under heavy fire, this may get tricky on our end."

The woman checked her surroundings again, before preparing to move along to her rendezvous point. As soon as she went past the door to the emergency exit, she stopped and placed her ear to the door. Hearing footsteps in the stairwell on the other side, she quickly leaned back against the adjoining wall, and prepared her gun to fire. As the door opened, she turned to fire at the person, only to find a familiar face doing a similar corner check and pointing his tranquilizer gun at her in return.

"Ludwig, what are you doing up here?" she hissed, "Why aren't you helping the others escape?"

"I came to find you, Madeline," Ludwig explained, "I think you might be in danger."

"No shit, I'm in danger," she retorted as she kept moving down the hallway, "Officers could show up and shoot us at any moment."

"Come back this way, Madeline," Ludwig insisted as he pulled back on her hand, "We can take this stairwell out of here."

"That's not happening, Ludwig," she refused, pulling back hard enough to loosen his grip, "My rendezvous point with Toris is just over here, like we planned without your interference. You can either follow me, or leave without me."

She turned to keep walking, rolling her eyes skyward at the sound of footsteps behind her as Ludwig caught up again.

"You might be walking into a trap," Ludwig warned, "The others downstairs claim that Ivan and Antonio betrayed them, and I think they might be doing the same to you."

"They would never betray me," she dismissed as she did a corner check at the end of the hallway, only to see Toris rushing around the corner at the other end, followed by gunshots.

She pulled Ludwig behind her and rushed to join Toris at his side, before the three ducked into the nearby cubicle. As they rushed to catch their breaths, she saw Toris do a suspicious double-take as he noticed the third member of their group.

"What the fuck is he doing here?" Toris inquired.

"He decided to come up here on his own and try to rescue me," she explained, watching as Toris also rolled his eyes while raising his wrist to his face.

"Rendezvous has been made," Toris relayed into his microphone, "Ludwig is with us, he came upstairs to find her."

"See if you can dump the extra baggage," Ivan paged, "We don't have time to deal with this."

"We need to get to the last cubicle before the elevator," Toris explained as she leaned out to check their surroundings, waiting for two police officers to go by down the hallway before making the call.

"We're clear at the moment, move now!"

Toris left the cubicle first, and she grabbed Ludwig by the collar to drag him with her as she followed. As they rushed down the hallway, they heard officers quickly approaching and preparing to fire. Once they reached the last cubicle before the elevator, Toris used the corner as a shield to hide behind, and began firing back at them with his own gun. Avoiding Toris's aim, she wheeled Ludwig around the corner and down into the protected area behind the cubicle panels.

Once the two of them had gained position in the cubicle, she reached around blindly with her left hand and removed an item from the back of her belt. Shouting was heard to their right, promptly followed by gunfire from the second direction. She watched as Toris turned to join them, only to have a barrage of bullets hit him in the chest.

"Toris!" she shouted.

All expression fell from his face as Toris collapsed to the ground. Ignoring the risk of being shot, she pushed herself forward, grabbed his shirt with her right hand, and dragged him into the cubicle. His limp body landed on her, and she quickly moved him to the floor, maneuvering him onto his back as she dropped the item beside them on the ground. She hardly had to glance at the wounds to know he wouldn't last.

"I'm sorry," Toris gasped, "I failed you."

"No you didn't, Toris," she assured, "You fought valiantly, that's the best I could ask for."

Toris took a few deep, painful breaths before attempting to speak again.

"It was an honour working for you, Mat-"

Before Toris could finish his sentence, his eyes rolled back and his body went limp. She tried shaking him frantically, but he did not reawaken.

"What now, Madeline?" Ludwig asked, as they heard shouts for the surrounding officers to hold their fire.

She looked up and glared at Ludwig with displeasure, grabbing the item from the floor with her left hand and moving it to her right.

"Your game is over, Mathilda, you are surrounded," a familiar voice shouted from the group of officers to their right, "Drop your weapons, and come on out with your hands in the air."

"Mathilda?" Ludwig whispered in confusion and suspicion, glancing between her and towards the voice, "Why did my brother just call you Mathilda?"

Looking dead in his eyes, she reached her left hand forward, grabbing the collar of his shirt to pull him closer. With her right hand, she twirled the item into position, pressed the button to make the needle come out, and stabbed it into his neck. Ludwig cringed in pain and shock as she hit the last button on the needle, injecting a triple-dose of the tranquilizer serum into his bloodstream.

"That's my real name, dumbass," she hissed.

Watching the shock appear in his eyes before they rolled back into his head, she gave him a subtle push backwards so that his unconscious form was propped up by the cubicle. She immediately went back to work, rolling Toris's body over and removing the two devices from his belt. She removed the pin from the first device, and threw it to the right of the cubicle.

"We are just boarding the elevator," Antonio paged as she removed the pin on the second device and threw it over the left side of the cubicle, "It will ring when it hits your floor, be prepared to run for it."

"Toris has been shot dead by the police," she answered, crouching into position, "Ludwig has been knocked out, I'm in the cubicle closest to the elevator. Smoke bombs are deployed, I'll be coming in hot."

Just as she finished the transmission, a bell was heard, followed by the sliding of the elevator doors. Knowing it was her moment, she barreled out of the cubicle and into the smoke cloud. She could hear shouting from the officers followed by gunfire, but the smoke kept them from seeing that she was on the move. As she reached the floor's lobby, she could finally see Ivan standing in the doorway of the open elevator.

"Hurry, Mathilda," he urged as she reached him.

Ivan allowed her to crash against his own body as they both entered the elevator, and she looked over to see that Antonio was repeatedly hitting the close button. She glanced out to see a figure rushing through the smoke towards them, and recognized Gilbert just as he got close enough and raised his gun towards the closing elevator doors.

 _BANG!_

 _DOING!_

 _Ting!_

As she felt the elevator begin to move, she looked towards her feet, and saw the bullet on the ground that caused the final clank against metal. She then looked to her side, where a bullet-sized dent had formed along the elevator wall only a foot away from her. She finally glanced between her faithful lover and her loyal bodyguard, and began to chuckle with them in relief.

Gilbert's shot had missed.

* * *

 ** _Author's Note_**

 ** _Toris is dead, Ludwig has been dumped, Madeline was actually Mathilda the whole time, and I've waited so fucking long to post this big twist!_**


End file.
